


The Ghost of Garreg Mach

by libra__bun



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, All Routes Spoilers (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Eventual Smut, F/M, Female My Unit | Byleth, Light Angst, Mutual Pining, Mystery, Romance, Spoilers for Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-01-22 22:07:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 40,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21309379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/libra__bun/pseuds/libra__bun
Summary: At the start of the academy year, it didn't take long before students heard about the ghost that stalks its halls.  Some wished to seek her out but what they didn't realize was that curiosity was a two-way street or that rumors lie.An AU wherein Jeralt was unable to escape with Byleth during the fire.  Warning and Rating subject to change as story progresses.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 100
Kudos: 386





	1. First Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've started to write a few different ideas for dimileth fics in the last week but this is the only one that I've been able to write more than a thousand words for so I've decided to follow this plot bunny. 
> 
> Right now whatever I end up setting the rating to is a toss up between T and M. I will try and follow the events of the game loosely but since Byleth won't be their professor I know that there's already a noticeable divergence.
> 
> The beginning of the story takes place before the paralogue even takes place as you'll soon see. There's no beta so I apologize for any mistakes.
> 
> That's enough of my ramblings, please enjoy! (｡v_v｡)

Dimitri casually passed by students with Dedue as he familiarized himself with the grounds. There were more places than he expected students to have free rein to roam in the monastery. It was pleasant that they were given that freedom though.

He could understand the hushed whispers and stray glances he received what with this year having so many future leaders of the continent present. What piqued his interest wasn’t their gossip of him, rather, the second most prominent topic of the students. 

“Did you hear about the ghost?” one girl said to what looked to be her friend, “I really hope it isn’t true.”

“Don’t worry,” the other spoke with a scoff, “I heard from a former student that it’s so-called ‘attacks’ to those who ‘disturb her rest’ are only a scare tactic to keep us quiet after dark.”

The two passed theories back and forward in the courtyard where Dimitri quietly listened in as he looked over the classrooms he would soon be learning in. Their conversation drifted to their thoughts on the year to come before long.

Not wanting to pry, Dimitri traced his gloved hand along the cold stone of the building and wooden door before letting it grip the handle and turn the knob to the Blue Lion’s room.

The blond scanned the desks as he walked up the aisle, taking note of each one’s distance to the board at the front. “It’s spacious,” said Dimitri. He brought a hand up to rest at his mouth as he pursed his lips.

“Woah so serious~!” A voice cooed, “I don’t think a seat is so important that you give yourself wrinkles over it.”

Surprised, he turned on his heel, letting his hand rest on the hilt of his sword. Dimitri’s eyes quickly locked on the redhead perched against the ledge of the stained glass windows by the door as a smile quickly donned his face.

“Sylvain!” 

“I was waiting for you to notice me.” Sylvain grinned before faking a pseudo pain in his chest. “If only it were a cute girl to have come in first…!”

Dimitri chuckled, “I see you haven’t changed at all in the time we were apart.” As Sylvain leaned back, he rose a brow as he heard heavy footsteps approach the room, diverting Dimitri’s attention for a moment as the door opened. “Dedue, I’d like to introduce you to Sylvain; Sylvain this is my friend Dedue.”

“Yo,” the redhead supplied, “Sylvain Gautier.”

The taller one nodded his head. “I am his Highness’ aide, Dedue Molinaro.”

They fell into silence, Sylvain waiting for Dedue to ask some questions to break the ice but it didn’t come. They both glanced at Dimitri but he was content with letting them use this opportunity to get to know one another.

Sighing, Sylvain finally shook his head. “Why don’t we go to the dining hall? We can grab an early lunch and maybe meet some cute girls.”

“Is that all you can think of today?” The question was dismissed with his own answer to Sylvain’s question. “I would be happy to join you, my friend.” As the prince looked to Dedue, he merely nodded to affirm he would also join them. 

Their walk was short as Dimitri and Sylvain chatted about the areas they wished to grow in much like the girls who had been in the courtyard. Dedue, only a few steps behind, did not input in the conversation more than a few words of affirmation or denial when prompted.

Many of the students seemed to be conversing in the gardens by the dining area as their conversations could be heard all around them died to a lower volume as upon entering the warm building. There were plenty of empty seats to choose from but Sylvain took the lead and slid into a spot next a lone girl in the middle with a large smile plastered on his face. “I hope these seats aren’t taken.”

“Please,” she said with an artful smile, “I’m Hilda — Golden Deer.”

“Hilda, your name sounds almost as lovely as you,” Sylvain said scooting ever so slightly closer. “If only I had the honor of being your classmate.”

She paid no mind to him as the blond and silver-haired teens took their place across from her. The smile on her face never wavered but she couldn’t help but cock her head at Dedue before ignoring him to look at Dimitri. Before introductions were in order, Hilda found the seat next to her occupied.

“Could this be a gathering of Deer I spot?” The one who stole the seat spoke with excitement.

“I am sorry to disappoint you but Sylvain, Dedue, and I are to be Blue Lions,” replied Dimitri.

“Blue Lions, huh? Well, I hope we can still get along. I’m Claude by the way,” he grinned, “Claude von Riegen.”

“Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd.”

Claude gaped in surprise. “Wow, not what I was expecting. I figured the prince of Faerghus would be less...” He looked at Dedue and back to Dimitri. “...accepting of differences.” Hilda frowned at Claude’s words but chose to eat rather than comment.

Dedue spoke matter of factly as Dimitri finished his bite. “His Highness is a very accepting person, however, it would do well to be more courteous in the future.” 

The glare he gave Claude had little effect as the Almyran laughed. “No ill will intended. I hope you and I can become friends, your Royalness.”

“Dimitri is fine,” he said with a hand on his aide’s arm, “I didn’t mind the comment. I enjoy when people speak their mind. And I too would like to get to know you better.”

Dedue relaxed as the conversation carried on. They chatted about frivolous things: the food, room arrangements, which areas they had yet to see, and who they had met so far. The dining hall became more crowded as they talked.

Hilda was quick to excuse herself as soon as her plate was empty. “I’ll see you in class if the ghost doesn’t get you tonight,” Claude jokes.

“Very funny,” Hilda said, “but I’m not worried about ghosts.”

“Speaking of ghosts,” Dimitri started. “What is all this talk of them at the monastery about? I have heard many students mention them but don’t know where I would start my questioning...”

“There’s a perfect start.” Claude leaned his chin on his palm as he moved forward. “Do you want to know more because you think she might getcha’?”

He shook his head. “I had just never heard about any of the dead lingering here before today.”

“I hadn’t heard much before coming here,” Sylvain said, “I just know it’s a woman and she’s been here for at least a decade. It is way better that the ghost isn’t a man.”

“Why’s that?” Claude baited. He had an idea of where the redhead was going from how he was complementing Hilda previously.

“Between a sad man or woman, who would you rather comfort?” He shook his head. “The answer is obvious! Anyone would rather comfort the beautiful woman, to see the tears on her face dry as she smiles at you warmly before finally moving on.”

“You’ve really thought about this, Sylvain,” Claude interrupted. “I can’t say she will be all that beautiful what with burn scars all over her face.” 

Dimitri narrowed his eyes. “Burn scars?”

“I can’t say for certain, but that’s my best guess about her death.” Claude shrugged as waited to see if Sylvain had any more he had wanted to say. With no more to add, Claude offered his knowledge. “I was talking to some of the knights since I wasn’t getting anywhere with the students and they said she started to appear twenty years ago. The only major event that ended in deaths was a fire. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get much more information than that.”

“Aww, couldn’t get any more out of them than that?” Sylvain asked.

“The ones who I talked to that were employed long after the fire were about as much as help as the students and ones that had worked here when the fire broke out seemed to upset when I started to pry more than that to get anything useful.” Claude quickly flashed a smile, “It’s only the first day. I don’t think it will take too long to unravel the mystery.”

“Unraveled or not,” Dimitri said with a glance at Dedue’s empty plate before standing with his own, “We should be respectful to the departed. I enjoyed eating with you von Reigen, Sylvain.”

“Claude’s fine, your Royal Highness,” he grinned.

Dimitri bowed slightly before leaving. “I hope you have a pleasant evening then, Claude.”

The rest of his day was largely uneventful. He unpacked his belongings with Dedue before they went down to the first floor of the dooms and his request to help him unpack was denied by the taller one. They ate dinner and retired early, hoping to rest and rise early.

While he did rise early, the unfamiliar room and his difficulty finding sleep in general only allowed the prince to sleep an hour or two at most.

He met up with Dedue in the greenhouse after having dressed. There wasn’t much he could do beyond admire the plants before class. 

They were the first to arrive and Dimitri took a seat at the front of the room while Dedue placed his own materials on the bench next to his. The doors quietly creaked as a boy with gray hair opened them sometime later. He had a notebook clutched to his chest as he looked over the room with wide eyes.

“Amazing...! Ah Hello.” The boy smiled as he moved to the desk behind the prince. “My name is Ashe. I didn’t think there would be anyone else here so early.” After explaining he had been too excited to sleep. Dimitri and Ashe chatted until Sylvain made his entrance with two familiar faces.

“Ingrid, Felix! It’s good to see you both,” Dimitri beamed. The heir to house Gautier strolled through the open doors to sit on the desk across from Ashe with his arms crossed lazily behind his head while Ingrid sped up to set her notebook on the desk next to Sylvain’s and join the conversation.

Felix grimaced, “It would be better if I didn’t see you, boar.” He folded his arms, dropping his own materials on the table behind Sylvain’s.

“Don’t talk to his Highness like that Felix,” scolded Ingrid. “Sylvain told us that you brought a friend with you to Garreg Mach. Is this him?” 

She looked to Ashe with a smile but he timidly shook his head. “I’m very sorry. I didn’t realize I was talking to his Highness, I shouldn’t have been so casual!”

“Nonsense,” Dimitri said, “I would much prefer if you spoke with me casually. You may also continue to call me by my first name.”

“No, I don’t mean to be rude but that’s something I can’t do as a commoner.” Ashe fiddled with the hood that stuck out from his uniform hoping that smoothing it out would do the same to his new found anxiety.

The prince sighed but his smile was soon to return as two girls came running into the room holding hands. “Mercie, we… made it…” The shorter one panted as she leaned over to catch her breath.

“We seem to be a little early. Unless the professor only stepped out for a moment?” 

“You ladies are right on time,” Sylvain answered. 

They gave a sigh of relief before introducing themselves. Everyone gave a brief introduction before they resumed the conversation. Unlike Ashe, Annette and Mercedes were unsurprised to find that they would be having class with their future king. They had heard that he would be attending while they were in the marketplace the prior day.

After half an hour, all students were in their seats waiting for class to start. Ten minutes later, they heard the sound of heels clicking as their professor made her way to the front of the room.

“Greetings class!” She knocked the papers in her hands against the front desk before setting them down. “My name is Manuela Casagrande. Before you jump to conclusions, I’m not late because of oversleeping — my students are the Black Eagles so I had to take care of them first. I’m here to take attendance and help you choose your house leader while your professor is in a last-minute meeting.” Ingrid raised her hand. “Yes?”

“How will the selection process work if you aren’t our professor?”

“That’s an excellent question, the professors don’t choose the leaders, the students do by majority vote.”

Nodding, they began their selection after she explained the duties that the position entailed. Ashe nominated Dimitri, Sylvain seconded it with a laugh and Felix said he would vote for anyone but him. With no other nominations, Dimitri was made the leader with seven votes. Manuela was reminded of the fact he didn’t vote as she nearly called the win a landslide.

“Now that that is over with and I don’t have any plans for you…” Manuela clapped her hands gleefully. “I don’t believe there would be objections to me giving you the rest of the day off.” There were few objections as they filtered out. “And Dimitri,” she called before he stood, “house leaders receive their capes from the Lady Rhea so please go tell her at your earliest convenience.” 

With a nod, he left to the second floor of the monastery by himself. The others split off into two groups: Annette, Ashe, Mercedes, and Dedue to the piers and the three friends to the training grounds.

Dimitri slowed his brisk walk as he ascended the stairs. He looked at the hallway across from the large door when he noticed a group of nuns speaking to each other at the end. Rather than strain his ears for no reason, he walked to the door and prepared to knock as the door open before he could do so.

“You must be a house leader,” said the man with green hair. He sighed long and deep. “Manuela must have taken care of the selection and dismissed you.” 

“That’s correct.” Dimitri nodded. “If this it a bad time, I would be happy to return later.”

“That’s quite alright.” He opened the door enough for him to enter before closing it again. They approached the archbishop and the man whom she was speaking with without a word. “Lady Rhea, we have our first house leader.”

“My, that is unexpected.” Rhea turned to the man in the mask. “We will continue this discussion in a moment — Tell me, young man, what is your name?” She looked Dimitri over in a glance before smiling.

With a bow, Dimitri introduced himself. Rather than speak again, the man in the mask opened his mouth before the archbishop, “Then that would make you the leader for my house. It’s not surprising that the Blue Lions picked you.”

“Yes,” Rhea added, “I do believe it was a fitting choice. As Manuela likely explained, I will be giving you and professor Jeriza your missions each moon.”

“Thank you for this opportunity and I look forward to my duties,” Dimitri said. “I don’t wish to keep you from your meeting any longer than necessary.”

She nodded and gestured to the man who led him into her chamber. “Seteth here will give you what you need – it is to be worn with your uniform.”

Following him out, Dimitri followed Seteth to his office where he gave him the cape and tassel which he used to easily pin the blue fabric to his shoulder as instructed.

He found himself standing on the side of the bridge, letting the wind blow through his hair and cape. It felt odd as it fluttered against his back. It was much brighter than he anticipated but it made sense if he needed to be identified quickly.

The view from the bridge was quite different in the daytime. The mountain's depths and sky’s vastness complement each other nicely. He leaned over to look at the darkness of the cavity below the bridge.

“I prefer the look of when it’s darker out.” A smooth voice came from behind him.

Dimitri turned and pushed his cape down to look at the girl that was only a mere inches from his person. The pink hairband kept her hair from obstructing her face as the wind tossed her hair around. She hadn’t made a sound in her approach. It unnerved him.

“You surprised me,” Dimitri said. She tilted her head. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure. Dimitri.” 

Extending his hand, the one in front of him didn’t take it. “Byleth,” She said flatly.

“Thank you then Byleth, I must look at it when night falls.” She only nodded at his response as he turned to look back down, he let go of his cape, imagining how it’s charm might increase with the cover of darkness.

His eyes widened as he registered the noise of the material flapping. “I’m terribly sorry if my cape hit you! I’ve only had it for today so…” He turned his head but as she had come, Byleth left without a noise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the first chapter!
> 
> Please leave kudos or review if you enjoyed it or spotted some mistakes. I would love to hear your thoughts or answer any questions you might have too.


	2. Imperception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's read so far! I teared up when I saw the amount of kudos since 41 already makes this tied for the most kudos on a fic of mine. ｡：ﾟ(｡ﾉω＼｡)ﾟ･｡
> 
> I also realized that I messed up by accidentally inception-naming the first chapter since it had said "Chapter 1: Chapter 1: First meetings" so I apologize for that. It shouldn't happen again since I will actually try and make use of the preview button from now on haha...
> 
> Please enjoy!

The second day of class was eventful.

Mercedes teared up with joy when she found her little brother was their teacher for the school year. Jeriza acknowledged it but quickly moved on to their first order of business which was to have all of them move to the training grounds and duke it out in a free for all until it was left to the last person standing.

It was chaotic. Fire, swords, lances, arrows, and fists. The chaos finally ended when Annette ran to Manuela to get help for Sylvain who had been knocked out cold. He had accidentally got in between Felix's attempt to land a hit on Dimitri. Dedue alerted the prince before it was too late and the blond’s elbow wound up colliding with his face.

Manuela came in as the prince and Fraldarius heir were locked in a stalemate. Ingrid nursed a cut on her side as Mercedes had also been knocked out and Ashe was in the middle of carrying her over to the sidelines with Dedue.

To say the former songstress was displeased with the work her fellow professor made for her was a severe understatement.

Once she treated each of the Blue Lions, Manuela didn’t hesitate to lecture Jeriza as more students gathered from the sound of her yelling. She may have been the monastery's physician but that didn't mean she was prepared to treat the Blue Lion's wounds every day for his reckless instruction – even if it was to observe their methods of fighting.

They spent the rest of class time looking at strategy books in the classroom.

After dinner, Dimitri made his way back to the bridge. Dedue advised him against looking so far over the edge but he assured him that he wouldn’t fall but should he, Dedue would be able to grab him and that ended the matter.

Beneath the stone walkway was an abyss of darkness. He couldn’t tell how far it went in the day but it was a sea of nothingness compared to the small crack he had seen before.

“It’s getting cold, your Highness,” Dedue said as he noticed Dimitri rub his ears after a particularly strong gust of wind.

“Indeed,” Dimitri said looking along the empty bridge.

His mind wandered to Byleth as he crawled into bed for the night. It hadn’t crossed his mind but unless another class had been dismissed, he should not have met her on the bridge in the first place. How long had she been standing there before she announced her presence? Seconds? Minutes?

Classes and training continued without an incident like their second day of class. Professor Jeriza was no doubt being lenient in his methods of instruction as Manuela made it clear she would drop by the training grounds when she saw fit whenever she heard the Blue Lions would be using it for class instructions. He dueled them one on one as frequently as he pit them against each other. Beyond that, their professor gave them plenty of battlefield scenarios they were to work out in the classroom along with assignments that fit closer to their own goals.

After class, Dimitri found most of his time was devoted to sparring and staring out over the bridge until Dedue recommended they turn in.

“You’re gathering quite the reputation,” Claude said, one arm supporting his lunch and the other slung around Dimitri’s shoulder. “Care to talk about it after I get rid of my plates since you look like you’re on your way out too?” Nodding in response, Claude patted him on the back and left to find a seat. “See you by the dock then.”

Dimitri heard Ashe talking by the stairs as he came to wait for the Golden Deer’s house leader. “—to think that the cathedral would be a place I’d want to avoid... ” The teen sighed deeply.

“If you don’t want to see the ghost then I have the perfect place for you to consider.” The man whom Ashe spoke with’s voice was accompanied by a hearty laugh. “The living room!”

“Pfft—!” Dimitri frantically tried to stifle his laughter. It was too late as his classmate called him over with a smile. “I hadn't meant to listen in. If it helps, I only heard the tail end of it.”

“No need to apologize!” The armored man patted him on the back. “Alois, a proud knight of Seiros, has nothing to hide. I was just telling this lad about the last time I received a report about our resident specter; Students tell us about sightings from time to time.”

Dimitri rose a brow. “Would that mean the cathedral was the last place it appeared?”

“That is where reports have come in the most,” Alois said. “The last place she was seen… now where was that…?”

“The greenhouse right?” The three looked up to find Claude looking down at them from the railing. He flashed a grin before coming to join them.

Alois stroked his mustache as he rummaged through his thoughts. With a nod, he conceded to his words. “I remember that now… There was a student who saw her there shortly before last year’s graduation.”

“You ever see her?” Claude probed.

The knight shook his head with a grateful smile and explained that the only ones to see the ghost besides students were some newer knights and holy folk. Even then, actual sightings were rarer than pranks between students in past years.

Dimitri frowned. “It’s been so long… I wonder why no one has asked her what she desires?” 

“Maybe there isn't anything she wants?” Ashe suggested. 

“Or else it hasn’t been asked,” interjected Claude, “everyone’s been too busy running to let the thought cross their mind from the sound of it.” He looked to Dimitri. “I hadn’t thought to ask anyone if they had spoken with it but I suppose if it were alive before then it would be able to talk. Thanks for the insight.”

Dimitri nodded, downcast. The question was only natural, the dead he was familiar with never ceased in talking to him. He did his best to push them to the back of his mind but they were always there, demanding from him.

“Ah!” The Deer grinned, moving closer to the prince. “Is that the forlorn expression I heard about?”

“What?” Dimitri backed up as his chest was poked.

“This is what I had wanted to ask about in the first place,” Claude said with a shake of his head. “One week in and you’re already having love troubles…”

He resisted the urge to cover his expression, hoping it wasn’t as red as it felt. “L-love troubles?!” Dimitri asked louder than intended. He coughed. “I don’t know where you got that idea from, Claude.”

He put a hand to his chest to show his sincerity as he spoke. “Come on, friends tell each other about their crushes. They don’t just stare out over a bridge while they think of Edelgard. You’ve gathered quite a crowd of onlookers in such a short time.”

“What does she have to do with his Highness?” Ashe asked curiously.

“Nothing. I don't have that interest in Edelguard,” Dimitri said firmly. “The bridge is a nice place to think. ...And I thought that I could thank the one who told me about it if I visited there often enough.”

“Does this person have a name?” Claude asked, leaning against his shoulder with bright eyes.

The brown-haired teen found himself being pushed away as Dimitri shook his head. “Her name isn’t any of your concern.”

“Oooo so there is a girl…!” He grinned as Dimitri grit his teeth. He didn’t mean to give Claude so much fodder to be teased with but the blond wasn’t about to subject Byleth to the same treatment as he excused himself before any more embarrassment could take place.

He would have to avoid the bridge for the time being.

It was no trouble to avoid it. Spending more time training was a more productive use of his time than waiting for the mysterious girl. Dedue also seemed more relaxed now that he turned in earlier.

Rest was still hard to find despite having grown used to his dorm room. Quite often, Dimitri found himself asking women to leave Sylain’s room before he could even attempt to force his body to sleep. Nights like this, muscles aching from training the entire evening, but not sore enough to completely tire him out were less pleasant.

He stretched and redressed to talk a walk.

The grounds were quiet. Only a few knights at their posts were out at this hour. There was just enough moonlight for him to not need a candle which he was grateful for.

Past the greenhouse and pond, Dimitri looked at the closed stalls of the marketplace and turned back before the gatekeeper on night watch had a chance to notice him. He had a much easier time speaking with the other gatekeeper who was stationed there in the daytime.

Much to his surprise, there on the dock, Dimitri spotted a figure crouching down. He approached cautiously until he was close enough that he recognized Byleth’s pink hairband. 

“May I intrude?” he asked tentatively. She turned her head, shifting to the other side so that there was room for him to sit on the plank. With a thank you, he took up the open space.

“You were right about the view,” Dimitri said to break the silence.

She rested her head on her knees as she turned her attention from the sky to him. “What do you mean?”

“I had thought that your mention of the bridge when it was darker had been a suggestion to look at it then.” He closed his eyes with a breath. “I must have read too much into your words.”

“I don’t mind. It was flattering to see you come back so many times after I told you.”

“Really?” Dimitri asked with an air of uncertainty since he couldn't recall seeing at any point. 

Byleth hummed in affirmation as he opened his eyes to look at her.

With the way she glowed in the light, a halo of light in her hair, it was almost as if he could have been looking at Sothis herself. What kept him from looking away from her wasn’t that angelic glow but the small smile that made its way to her lips.

As her smile grew ever so slightly, he found himself once more and stood. “I should go,” he said against his wishes.

“I understand,” Byleth said without looking at him. “Thank you for this time... and the last. I won’t bother you the remainder of the year.”

His eyes widened. That wasn’t what he meant at all. “If my staring didn’t bother you then I would much rather spend my time by your side,” he said quietly. “If you’ll allow it…”

She patted the wood by his feet after a moment and he chuckled before making himself comfortable. For a while, he talked about his friends and classes only turning the conversation to her when he saw her shoulders droop.

“I’ve never been a good partner for conversation,” Byleth eventually said. She knew the prolonged answer between his simple question and her inadequate answer was rude. There wasn’t a way for her to tell him about her own class experiences though. 

She didn’t attend the officer’s academy after all.

He wasn’t offended. Far from it, she could see as he beamed at her. “That’s quite alright, I wouldn’t mind you talking about something else if you would rather. I just thought I might ask since I don’t know much about you besides that you’re a student like me.”

The misunderstanding with the uniform could be fixed later, Byleth figured. “I’d like to fish,” she said.

“That’s… It’s a bit late for that,” Dimitri pointed out.

“It doesn’t have to be now. It could be tomorrow or the next day, even if I have to wait years.” She moved to touch the water. As her hand came in contact with it, it moved back and forth as it has before her contact with it, no ripples to be found. “When that time comes, I’d love to eat them. They do smell good cooked.”

He would have to get used to that odd way of speaking. Although, it did make him want to get to know her more.

“I would offer to teach you,” he said sheepishly, a hand coming to touch his neck, “but due to my crest, I always manage to break the pole before I can manage a catch.”

She broke into a laugh that he could have sworn made his heart turn into putty as that smile returned. He forgot what they were talking about as she moved her hair back behind her shoulder where it had been before her shoulders had started shaking with the emotion that overcame her.

“Your smile is absolutely mesmerizing.” Dimitri found the words escaping his thoughts and he didn’t care to stop them but as true as they were, he found himself at a loss for anything else to say. 

Byleth stood and waited for him to do the same. “You should get some sleep before the sun comes up,” she said, that same expression ever-present.

“Yes, you’re right…” He didn’t want to leave her. There was no telling when he would see her next.

As if she could read minds, Byleth opened her mouth. “Would you meet me by the cathedral next week? The side with the bulletin board doesn’t get used often. You can see it from the bridge.”

“I know where– What I mean to say is yes.” He nodded. ”I would love to meet you next week.”

His classmates noticed his distraction to the engagement as the week moved on. At first, it wasn’t noticeable: he did work as usual with moments where he would stop and sigh. Ingrid and Annette asked him about it but he didn’t wish to bother them. Finally, during their daily training, he had taken a hit to his side a few times more than usual.

Felix was fuming at the Dimitri as he stomped over to him, throwing his training sword on the ground. “Are you going to act like this when we get our first mission, boar?!

“My apologies,” Dimitri said. He knew he should be paying more attention. On a mission, his wandering mind could be the deciding factor in who lived or died. “My mind was elsewhere.”

“That much is obvious,” Felix spat. “You should be working on leading, not letting your mind fill up with other trivial things.”

“Why don’t we just train harder once he clears his mind,” Mercedes said. The others couldn’t deny the swordsman’s words but as he continued to speak, they found the severity of his tone to be more than necessary.

Ingrid nodded. “It would be better if we could give it our all tomorrow instead. It is a free day.”

“Tomorrow may not work for me,” Dimitri explained. “I was going to the cathedral.”

With a laugh, Felix went back to his sword. “What, are you going to pray the entire day? Or are you going to stare at nothing like a fool?”

“If you must know, I’m meeting someone. We just didn’t decide on a time,” Dimitri voiced softly as he inspected his lance for cracks before putting it away when he was satisfied that he hadn't visibly damaged it.

Sylvain perked up, immediately throwing his towel to the side. “Claude was right! You’re going to meet bridge girl, aren’t you? To think his highness has finally discovered girls after so many— Ow!” Ingrid pulled his ear as he went to toss his lance next to Dimitri’s.

“Bridge girl?” Annette questioned with a worried glance to the redhead.

Ashe bumped his fist against his palm. “I remember you mentioning her a few weeks ago.”

“Byleth and I spent some time chatting last Sunday. I planned on asking what class she is in but I missed that chance when we spoke,” he sighed.

“That's a much better name than ‘bridge girl,’” Annette giggled.

“It is,” Dimitri agreed. Felix rolled his eyes at the soft expression which crossed his face.

“We wouldn’t want to interrupt anything so have a nice time with her on your date tomorrow.” Sylvain practically pushed their leader out of the hall. Dedue raised his brows in question but wordlessly accompanied the blond who protested Sylvain’s label of their meeting.

As he turned around, Sylvain was met with Ingrid’s crossed arms and frown. “What are you up to?” she asked.

“Oh me?” He pointed to himself with a barely contained smirk. “Absolutely nothing. Why would you think _ I’m _ up to anything?”

“If you’re following the boar then I want no part of it,” Felix said. “I have much better things to do with my time.”

Yet Felix found himself doing just that. 

“This is stupid,” he said. “I don’t care who he spends his time with.” Sylvain promised to train with him if he helped spy on Dimitri but they had even skipped breakfast to tail him.

“For the seventh time,” Sylvain explained, “If I were to watch him alone then someone would probably report me. With you here, anyone that passes by would think it’s birdwatching or some special training.”

The shorter one pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched Sylvain adjust the binoculars in his hands. “You really think either one of us look like we spend our free time looking at birds?”

“You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” He shrugged. “Dedue has the hobbies of a housewife if you think about it.”

“Seriously?” Felix raised a brow as he narrowed his eyes. “Can you even see anything?” Passing the lenses over, Felix was surprised to find that waiting wasn’t all for nothing.

The swordsman could see a girl just by Dimitri’s shoulder. Adjusting the zoom further, he got a look at her face, watching for a moment as Dimitri laughed at something she said. “How was that enough to distract him? She looks like any other woman.”

“What?!” Sylvain said. He ripped the binoculars from his friend’s hands, nearly dropping them over the bridge in the process. “We wait for hours and the first time I hand these to you, you see Byleth before—” He frowned at Felix as he lowered them again. “That was mean Felix,” the redhead pouted.

He cracked a smile. “Did the boar get yelled at for laughing at her?”

“What are you talking about? There’s no one there,” Sylvain said, unable to hide his annoyance.

Glancing around, he spotted Dorothea walking out of the cathedral and called her over. Once he explained the situation, Sylvain pointed out where they were looking before she took a peak to settle their dispute. 

“As much as I want to side with you, Felix. I don’t see her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels a bit like I might end up adding drama to the tags given the events haha...
> 
> Thank you for reading! Next chapter, I plan on introducing Jeralt so stay tuned☆
> 
> I'd love to read any thoughts or questions you might have in the comments!


	3. The Tie that Binds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fics M now because, if my other fics were any indication, I really enjoy writing r18 content and couldn't help thinking of some scenarios... When the time comes though, I will give a warning so that you can skip it if you so choose. |꒳ `)
> 
> This chapter came out later than I wanted since I got a little caught up drawing and thinking of what to give my sister for her birthday which is today coincidentally! 
> 
> Thank you for all the reviews as well!! I read them all over with a smile while I wrote this out but wasn't sure how to reply to some of them without giving any spoilers away haha...
> 
> Please have fun reading.

The doors of the Blue Lion’s class were thrown open, Felix’s shoes striking the ground loudly. “Boar,” he yelled as he turned his head back and forth only able to find one head of golden locks.

They slowly looked up from the papers they gathered around in groups as he demanded to know where Dimitri was. There was an exchange of glances as they noticed his shaking fists and the fire in his eyes.

Mercedes furrowed her brow. “Is everything alright?” she asked.

“Of course not,” Felix said. His patience was wearing thin. “He needs to tell me what he means by that stunt he pulled.”

Sylvain shared a questioning look with Dedue who shook his head, neither sure what brought this behavior up. Resting his eyes on the chalkboard, however, Felix smirked. There it read, “Self study. Don’t kill each other.”

“Did that boar skip class then?” His eyes focused on Dedue. “You’re his dog aren’t you? Tell me where he is. Now.”

The intimidating glare didn’t phase the Duscurian even slightly. “He and the professor were summoned. As his retainer, any issues you have with him can be taken up with me,” stated Dedue. As he moved to cross his arms, Annette rested a hand on him to silently plead with him not to start a fight. He nodded but his features didn’t soften as he glared back.

He clicked his tongue and looked to where the prince usually sat. “I’ll see him soon enough. If Sylvain hadn’t held me back yesterday, I wouldn’t have any need for you to act like an unnecessary medium,” Felix said slightly less ruffled.

“You did follow him, you liar!” Ingrid said wishing Dedue and Annette weren’t standing between her and the redhead so she could put her fist to good use.

The one in question raised his hand in defense. “Woah! I didn’t lie about anything,” he protested.

“Enough,” Felix said raising his voice once more. His shoulders relaxed after he caught Annette and Ashe retreating behind the tallest one in the room. “Just tell me why he put you and Dorothea up to that, Sylvain.” It came out as less of a demand and more of an exasperated appeal.

“I keep telling you,” Sylvain laughed, “no one was ‘put up’ to anything.”

“And you expect me to believe that she was just walking past us coincidentally?”

He shrugged. “Well, yeah. Dorothea’s never talked to Dimitri and there wasn’t anything in it for her to pretend Byleth wasn’t there.”

Annette poked her head out from Dedue’s side and sheepishly raised her hand. With the quirk of Felix’s eyebrow, she sighed. “I know it was wrong... but I saw them talking before Mercedes and I went to choir practice in the morning. His Highness and Byleth that is.”

“I wanted to come over and look but Annie only mentioned it after practice was over,” Mercedes said with a pout. “I only saw him alone by the railing at that point…”

“Annette, what did she look like?” Felix asked as he took a seat. “...For detail's sake.”

Animated, she began to gesture with Ingrid as a model for proximity’s sake. “She was pretty! Her hair was about shoulder length and wavy like Mercie’s but it was really dark.”

Beginning to point at the top of Ingrid’s hair, Felix cut her off. “And her headband?”

“It was pink,” she said with a bounce.

“Alright, that sounds accurate… But none of this makes sense,” He said grimacing.

“That might be true,” Ashe said. “But if we talk to Dimitri, I’m sure we can clear things— Ah!” Felix pushed to his feet and headed back to the open doors. “We still have class. It might be pointless to go looking for them now…”

He waved off the words, rounding the corner. “I’m not looking for the boar.”

He couldn’t make it far as Ingrid connected the dots and strode over, pulling him back by the shoulder. A reminder that class was in session, meaning Byleth was likely in class as he should be too. He didn't argue and rather sat in on their strategy discussion quietly.

In Rhea’s chamber, the three house leaders and Jeriza were briefed on their mission. There were bandit sightings near Remire village that they were to investigate. “Should there be any issues,” Rhea said, “the knights of Seiros that accompany you shall assist you in defeating the bandits.”

After asking about any further things that should be kept in mind, the four left her chambers. Claude was quick to bring the leaders on either side of him into a side hug. “Well then...” His eyes shifted from Dimitri to Edelgard with a large grin. “What do you say we get closer before we depart next week?”

Grasping his wrist, Edelgard easily ducked out of Claude’s hug. “We can save that for the trip there. I have to tell my classmates that I’ll be gone. You should consider doing the same before your professor dismisses you for the day.”

“Oh, they’ll figure it out if Hanneman doesn’t mention it first,” Claude said. He pulled Dimitri closer, forcing him to bend over. “Sorry she can’t join us. How about we go somewhere since your professor is taking care of letting your class know?”

Dimitri shook his head to decline as he spotted someone moving briskly out of the corner of his eye. He pushed Claude’s hand away in time to focus on the end of the hallway. “I… I have a book I wanted to look for,” Dimitri said almost as if it were a question rather than a statement.

“Need any help? Because it sounds like you don’t know if it’s there.”

Leaving Claude, the prince walked into the library, asking where the student who last entered had gone to as he noticed all the tables were empty. The woman he spoke to gave him an odd look before telling him she hadn’t seen any students besides him that day.

Thanking her, Dimitri left and felt his heart seize as he turned and was face to face with Byleth. “Goddess!” he said with a step back.

“Hello, Dimitri,” Byleth said quietly. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just didn’t want to cause a scene in there.”

“No, I wasn’t frightened,” he said earnestly. “I had forgotten how little noise you make when you approach and was only surprised to see you so close.”

With wide eyes, she blinked for a moment before relaxing into her neutral more expression. As she did, Byleth turned around and began walking slowly. He followed her back to the first floor, taking note of how her pace quickened as they passed the large doors behind which the archbishop stood.

She glanced into the corridor and at the doors but rather than moving, she focused on Dimitri. She looked at the smile he gave her with a slight tilt of his head. He didn’t move so she waited until a knight opened the door leading towards the dorms. Byleth passed by him as he ignored her. The man bowed slightly to Dimitri as he went on his way.

“That was quite rude of him,” Dimitri said as he strode over to Byleth’s side. “Though I don’t know if it was because of my position or something else.”

“It wasn’t rude,” Byleth said shaking her head. “It would have been stranger if he did take notice of me.”

“That’s not true at all,” he protested, “I’ve only known you a single moon but when I see you, Byleth... I can’t help but be drawn to you.”

Dimitri looked away, embarrassed by his words as true as they were. She was utterly captivating and always so close but felt so far away even as they had shared the day prior.

He couldn’t see the way her shoulders stiffened for a moment, only raising from the ground as he saw Byleth’s feet move once more turning to leave him but not telling him to go away. She moved quickly for her height, descending each of the stairways.

“Byleth…?” He asked, carefully extending his hand to touch her shoulder when she stopped in the square by the greenhouse.

Before he could make contact, she jerked away. 

Not missing the wince of pain on his face, Byleth bit her lip. “I’m sorry… I just… I’m not used to anyone touching me as I am now.”

“Is that so?” He asked cautiously, pulling his hand back to adjust the blue sword holster that he wore over his shoulder. “I’ll remember that… but if you don’t mind me asking…”

“Yes?” She tilted her head, using her arm to support the other one as she rested her hand on her palm.

“Is there a reason you’ve led me so far?”

“I didn’t want to cause any issues from you talking to me. The greenhouse is usually empty at this time as is the library but, well, you saw.”

“Of course,” He smiled wryly. It already caused a small commotion for him to look out on the bridge. Thoughts of the kind of issues had he already created just by having spoken to her for so long the day before invaded his mind.

He gripped his holster tighter and Byleth stepped closer, bringing him out of his thoughts. “Would you like to take that off? It seems to be bothering you?”

“I’ll do that once I’m in my quarters, there’s no sense in doing that here,” Dimitri said, hoping he wasn’t cutting their conversation short.

“Alright.” She said decidedly. “Then I’ll follow you there.”

He almost protested but his tongue was as twisted as his stomach, only allowing him to nod and lead the way bashfully. He felt his heartbeat thumping faster and faster as they walked. He desperately thanked the goddess in his head that no one was on the second floor.

In his room, he removed the holster and cape, setting them on his desk. As he turned around, Dimitri found Byleth sitting on his bed as she looked around his room.

He couldn’t help but let his eyes wander from her hands to the white collar of her uniform. He looked at her chest before snapping his flushed gaze to the door when he saw her shift on the bed, inadvertently pushing them together.

He coughed and looked back at her face. “What was it you wanted to talk about?” he asked.

“Right,” she said, pulling her legs onto the mattress. “I heard you would be going on a mission.”

“Word travels fast.” Dimitri turned his chair to sit and face her, forcing himself to not let his eyes travel anywhere they shouldn’t. “It shouldn’t be long before I and the other house leaders return. Lady Rhea said that it was a small group that we would be dealing with.”

Byleth crossed her arms. “Be prepared for the worst,” she said. “I’ve never heard of house leaders having missions together. It would be normal if an entire class was going.”

“You seem to know a lot about the church,” he remarked with a chuckle, “If I didn’t know better, I would say you were worried for me.”

“I do and I am,” she asserted. Byleth met his eyes and he could tell she was being serious from the look that gave him no room to argue.

His blond locks and hand hid his flushed cheeks as he thanked her for worrying about his well being. “Although, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to worry for your own house leader?” he inquired.

She deflected his underlying question of whose house she was in with ease. “I’m not close with either of them, Dimitri,” she said in a matter of fact tone.

Yes, Edelguard had spared her passing glances when she had walked through Garreg Mach a few evenings here and there. But she was almost always accompanied by her own retainer so Byleth never made a move to approach her. Claude, often exploring the monastery on his own, never paid any mind to her the few times their paths crossed.

She relaxed in his room, finally laying on his bed. Dimitri’s eyes widened as he watched her spread out without a care. “If you get too comfortable you might fall asleep by accident,” he pointed out, trying not to watch her too closely. “You should have dinner first. If you would like… we could eat together…?”

Byleth shook her head. “If you want to eat, I won’t stop you.”

“Ah! Right, you prefer to avoid crowds…” The dining hall was sure to be filled with many people. He perked up as he thought of a solution. “What if I brought our meals here?”

“I’m not hungry,” Byleth said, kicking her feet over the edge to stand. “...but you should eat. You’ll need your strength.”

“That is true,” Dimitri said as he opened the door for her. “I suppose I’ll see you next when I return.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Byleth said, turning the corner of her lips upwards as she took light steps into the hall of the second floor.

Dimitri clenched his hands together to keep himself from reaching out to grab Byleth’s hand in the small moment she turned around and waved goodbye to the young prince with that wonderful expression. He took a breath and closed his eyes, about to tell her to have a good evening, only to be met with the same absence as when they first became acquainted with each other.

Returning from dinner, Dimitri opened his door to find a brooch and note lying on his pillow. 

Its intricate design was something he had never seen before. He removed his gauntlets and thumbed over the groves of the top and center that he could only think to describe as a star before letting the threads of the pink tassel fall through his fingers.

It was the same color as Byleth’s hairband.

Feeling an uneven texture along the smooth backside, he flipped the gold piece over in his hand, careful not to crush it. The back had an engraving which read “To my dearest. —J. R. Eisner” in clear yet small writing.

Before he could ponder the meaning, Dimitri looked over the paper left for him.  “Dimitri,  This is for you. Please wear it. —Byleth,” he read the messy handwriting aloud slowly.

The next day he pined it above where his sword rested on its holster before leaving his room in the early morning hours. On their journey to Remire village, Dimitri found himself touching the spot where it rested on his hip. 

At first, it was to make sure it was secure. Then he found his hand moving to it just to touch it and be reminded of its owner.

After a few days, the group was ambushed as they camped near the location where reports had come in. Jeriza and the knights that accompanied them took on the brunt of the first wave of attacks. Dimitri followed Edelgard who had noticed Claude leave the scene as more bandits appeared.

“Maybe they could help us,” Edelgard said, pointing out a group in the distance. Many of the people illuminated by torchlight had armor on but all seemed to sport a weapon.

“Nice one,” Claude cheered as he ran faster. 

She and Dimitri were not far behind as they stopped to ask the nearest person for assistance once they reached the mercenaries. The man they spoke with left and returned with their leader, Jeralt. Dimitri explained the situation as concisely as he was able to with help from Claude before the bandits came into sight.

With Jeralt, the battle ended almost as quickly as it began. Before they could declare it their victory, the head of the bandits attacked Edelgard who only had enough time to block the attack with her dagger. The force of him swinging the axe knocked her to the ground. 

As she struggled with him, both of them trying to take the axe to attack again, Dimitri was able to run over kick him to the side with the help of his crest while Claude helped pull her out of harm's way.

The bandits soon retreated as the three heard Alois announce the knight’s arrival. Jeralt sighed as the man approached jovial to see that none of the students sustained more than a few nicks and bruises. 

Alois and Jeralt spoke before the knights came back with the news that the bandits had escaped. Although, reluctant Jeralt announced to his fellow mercenaries that they would be returning with the knights of Seiros to Garreg Mach.

They rested for the night before heading out and tended to any wounds. Jeriza had no visible injuries but it was no surprise as Dimitri knew how difficult he was to spar with during training. Edelgard rubbed the shoulder where her fall impacted most but the soreness subsided with sleep.

Traveling back, Claude did most of the talking between the three house leaders. Edelgard and Dimitri listened but didn’t add much to the conversation to the brown haired teen’s displeasure.

The forest began to thin out as they walked. “We’re almost back,” Edelgard noted. The tall structure of the monastery was unmistakable even from their distance.

“We should arrive by this afternoon,” Dimitri said. His hand ghosted along the brooch as he spoke, wondering what Byleth was doing at that moment.

Claude homed in on the movement of the blond. He knew the brooch was new to his person but he hadn’t expected him to touch it with such absent minded care. “Is that from bridge girl?” Claude asked slyly.

“You should have heard her name from Sylvain by now,” Dimitri replied with a glare.

Claude grinned. Not the reaction he was hoping for, but the sudden coldness was perhaps more entertaining than the expected flush of color. “Sorry, I didn’t have the chance to ask him.  _ Far  _ too busy with my studies,” he lied.

“I think you mean you were too busy asking about the ghost,” Dimitri said. Claude raised his brow and Dimitri looked away, apologizing for his overreaction.

At the monastery, the three thanked Jeralt once more before each heading their separate ways. 

Jeralt hesitated as the metal on the prince’s side caught his eye. “That’s odd,” he said to himself.

Alois looked over at Dimitri and smiled. “A little odd is better than him being a royal pain, don’t you think, Jeralt?”

“Very funny,” he said evenly, “but no. I was talking about the brooch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote a third of this chapter since I almost made the plot move much quicker than intended... 
> 
> I just couldn't bring myself to reveal too much more about Byleth's situation without having more pieces in place. Though you won't be in the dark for too much longer ( •̀ ω •́ )
> 
> Like last time, I'd love to hear any of the thoughts you had while reading!


	4. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been posting these almost as soon as I've finished them. That's both why I'm releasing chapters so quickly and also why my editing might not be catching all the mistakes. Don't be afraid to let me know if something doesn't make sense and I'll try and fix it! (￣▽￣)~
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and comments! They've helped motivate me to write faster hehe 
> 
> *cracks knuckles* No warning for me to give this chapter but things do move a little faster than the last one!

Dimitri made several rounds around the monastery before he found Byleth in the entrance hall. He would not have noticed her if not for the loud laugh Caspar gave which made him turn his head.

She was talking to him and Ashe as Dimitri made a beeline to the group. Byleth waved to him and the latter of the two boys greeted him formally.

“This is an unusual sight,” Dimitri commented. 

Byleth had a twinkle in her eyes as she nodded. 

Caspar shook finger. “No this isn’t the unusual part,” he corrected. “You should have seen how she was surrounded by cats by the docks a few days ago. It was so funny how many of them had gathered.”

“I wish I had been there,” Ashe mused, “since it sounded pretty funny from the way Caspar described it. I met Byleth while looking or a book on archery that I had heard Ignatz telling Petra about. She can find things so quickly, it’s amazing!”

Caspar explained how he met Byleth in greater detail for Dimitri. He didn’t want to be rude, so he pretended to listen and mimicked Ashe’s body language to find the proper responses. Dimitri rather looked at Byleth who quietly listened in.

She looked happier. But the thought that he may have been enjoying her time without him made his chest tighten. She had a right to talk to the other students. Their time alone might have just been because he was lucky enough to have been approached by her in the first place.

Sadly, our closeness was probably fleeting, he thought to himself.

Caught off guard by the blue haired boy flinging his arms out, Dimitri found himself questioning how much of the conversation he missed. 

“—and BOOM!” Caspar said loud enough for his voice to resonate off the walls in a slight echo, “She just went poof! The guy that hangs around the docks didn’t even see her show up so I think that means Byleth is a master of stealth.”

“That’s part of her charm,” Dimitri said with fondness. 

Byleth rested her head on her palm as she shifted her weight. “You still see me don’t you?” she asked, glancing between the three of them.

“Of course,” Ashe faltered. “When you talk like that, it reminds me of Petra.” Byleth tilted her head, encouraging him to continue. “Since she’s from Brigid and this is her second language, her sentences tend to come out with wordings that don’t always fit.”

“I don’t believe I’ve met her yet,” Byleth said. “However, there is no mistaking I was born here.”

“That so? I’m sure you’ll be able to get along with her either way,” Caspar said planting his arms on his hips with a grin. “Who knows, maybe Manuela can steal you from the Blue Lions for a mission with us one moon?”

Dimitri narrowed his eyes and looked at Ashe, the grey haired teen just as confused as he was. “I’m sad to say it, but Byleth isn’t my classmate,” Dimitri admitted.

“Oops! She’d mentioned you a lot so I figured that was the case.” He snickered after a moment, “Sounds like the Golden Deer class will be losing a student if Jeriza and Byleth talk then.”

Ashe smiled and continued talking as Byleth walked around them, tugging on Dimitri’s cape lightly before he bid them adieu and walked alongside her.

“Welcome back,” Byleth said. 

“Thank you.”

She clasped her hands behind her back. “I thought that you would be talking to Rhea so I was surprised to see you so soon after returning.”

“Is that so?” Dimitri blushed. “I was surprised to hear that you were thinking about me…”

She smiled, eyes dropping to the brooch as she caught his fingers tracing its shape. “I don’t think it’s surprising.”

“Right,” Dimitri said, suddenly stopping in his tracks. “I should return this! It wouldn’t be acceptable for me to keep something so important to you.” He reached to unclasp the metal from his holster. 

As he held it out to Byleth, she looked from him to it and sighed. “That was a gift, Dimitri. I imbued it with faith magic to keep you safe. There is no point if you don't wear it.”

“O-oh but the engraving?” he asked with uncertainty. “J. R. Eisner?”

“It was a memento. Eisner is my last name,” Byleth said.

“All the more reason for you too keep it,” Dimitri protested. She merely shook her head and asked that he continue to wear it but the prince would not concede.

“I had enough trouble bringing it to your room,” she finally said as she could tell Dimitri was approaching the point of declaring that he would pin it to her himself. “It was surprising I didn’t dent it on the way over, with how many times it slipped through my hand. If you gave it back to me now I would surely break it.”

“With my crest, I should be the one worried about breaking it,” Dimitri frowned, “If you’re so afraid of dropping it then I’ll place it in your room for you.”

“You can't.”

“Why?” He crossed his arms, steeling himself to wait out the silence.

They stood there as knights and members of the church passed occasionally. Some regarded Dimitri’s stern expression with confusion but most ignored the two while they passed.

As his own patience began to dwindle, not wanting her blank stare to turn into one of resentment, he considered dropping the matter. However, his curiosity to know more about her currently outweighed the potential consequences.

“If dropping it is the only issue,” Dimitri repeated, “Why can I not take it to your room for you?”

“I don’t have a room,” she mumbled, watching a group of students talking in a huddle from down the stairs, “…it’s complicated.” 

He gawked at her, unsure of what to say. Byleth was surely telling a joke with a punchline he didn’t understand or a metaphor for something he was unfamiliar with.

She crossed her arms, mirroring his stance. Dimitri scrunched his nose and looked at her with lost eyes.

“…But all students have a room in the dorms,” he said, grappling with Byleth’s words.

“Yes,” Byleth confirmed.

His eyes widened as realization dawned on him.

She avoided talking about class. He met her at the cathedral during class time. The same went for when he followed her to the library.

She never made a sound when she walked.

“You’re not a student,” Dimitri said. His mouth twisted and he shut his eyes tightly.

Byleth spoke with a twinge of sadness, “No, I’m not.”

His empty hand gripped the fabric of his uniform tightly. Dimitri turned away slightly as he opened his eyes. He refused to look at the one before him.

Stretching out her hand slowly, Byleth almost touched his face. “It wasn’t my intention to lie—” 

“I don’t want to hear it,” Dimitri snapped with barely controlled rage.  “I have enough of the dead following me. I don’t need you to accompany them.” 

Making an about-face, Dimitri tore away from her. The students Byleth had spotted gave him an odd look as he passed but ignored him.

Slamming the door of his room shut, Dimitri let his body slide against it until he was met with the wood floor beneath him. He tried to cup his face as he groaned only to feel the cold of Byleth’s brooch against his cheek.

He wanted to crumple it or throw it far away but the blond couldn’t bring himself to as he clutched it to his chest. “Why…?” Dimitri whispered in his empty room, leaning his forehead on his knees, curling in on himself. He didn’t bother wiping the tears that formed from his mix of emotions away. Rather focused on trying to push Byleth away from his thoughts as darkness eventually enveloped him in a cold blanket that wouldn’t allow him to sleep. 

Faint circles found their way under his eyes as the morning came. The medal was warm as he gently placed it where he first found it on his pillow.

He lingered long enough that Felix and Sylvain had already made their way to the classroom before he dragged his feet there.

Greeting them with an ill-fitting smile, Sylvain looked Dimitri up and down skeptically. “Rough mission or what?” he asked.

“No, just trouble sleeping,” Dimitri said taking his seat.

“You look like a corpse,” Felix said in a dry tone.

He closed his eyes, speaking in a low voice, “Do not speak to me of corpses, Felix. I’m not in the mood.”

He quirked an eyebrow up at Dimitri’s response. “Fine. Then tell me about the day before you left, Boar.” Dimitri turned to look back at Felix, the flat line of his mouth replacing the smile he had entered with. “Byleth wouldn’t tell me, so I'm forced to ask you why there was any need to have Dorothea and Sylvain try and trick me.”

“So you’ve spoken to her as well,” Dimitri grimaced. “I suppose it makes sense that not all can see the dead.”

Felix narrowed his eyes and pulled Dimitri from his seat by the fists in his jacket. “What does that have to do with Byleth?” Felix fumed, slamming his back against the desk. “You better not have done something uncalled for!”

He looked at the swordsman with lidded eyes, too exhausted to push him away. “I haven’t. There is no need to waste your energy,” Dimitri said.

Sylvain put a hand on the youngest’s shoulder. Felix let go slowly but wouldn’t relax as forced his clenched fists to stay down.

“What’s gotten into you two?” Ingrid asked as she entered the room with Ashe in tow.

Neither said a word as Sylvain shrugged at her. Dimitri chose to hang his head over his notes the remainder of the lesson while Felix kept his eyes fixated on the prince, barely listening to their professor's words.

Once class finished and they exited the class, Dimitri stilled as he saw Byleth standing behind a pillar in the corner of the courtyard. Dedue and Felix followed his gaze. The latter was the only one to approach the one with turquoise hair.

Though he could not hear their short exchange, Byleth watched Dimitri all the while. He could imagine that Felix accused him of hurting her as she shook her head right before he glared in suspicion at him over his shoulder.

“If I ignore her,” Dimitri asked with pause, “do you think she will leave me alone?”

“Perhaps a visit to the greenhouse could ease your mind, your Highness,” Dedue suggested, looking back to the spot Felix left but Dimitri remained fixated on. He felt it unnecessary to comment on the lone pillar.

As they surrounded themselves by plants, Dimitri relaxed. Although he was not of much use, it was fine for him water while Dedue inspected the plots for any weeds that may have taken root. Dimitri mistook and uprooted too many flowers and vegetables in the past by accident to be trusted with looking over their growth.

They worked methodically, neither getting in the way of the other. Dedue would advise Dimitri to adjust the pour of water as necessary but other than that he pruned and replanted quietly.

“If you need, I would be glad to listen to your troubles,” Dedue said softly but clearly. His back faced Dimitri as he prepared to plant more herbs.

Dimitri set the can down as began to open up.  He didn’t go into any unnecessary details but summarized the realization he had regarding Byleth and his newfound confliction over the matter. It wasn’t as though he truly wanted her out of his life, she was unlike any of the spirits that haunted his every move. But he let his emotions get the best of him.

Dedue moved to place what was left in the bag of soil over to a corner with other bags, stopping to address Dimitri. “If you are conflicted, might I suggest you talk to her? It may not be my place to say it but you seemed to be very glad to have her around before any of this came to light.”

“Please don’t talk about ‘your place,’” he pouted. “I wanted to talk to you as a friend, not as a prince.” Dimitri put a hand on his forehead and let loose a deep sigh. “…You are right. I can admit that I would have had no issues if she were like any other student.  But this changes things, my whole reason for coming here– to get revenge for what happened four years ago and let them finally rest. Wanting to get closer to a ghost is on the complete opposite side from that goal.”

“Is it?” Dedue asked. “If she haunts the monastery then one could argue she would be the best to turn to for answers.”

Dimitri had to agree, Byleth would be the easiest one to get answers from. Especially since she was able to appear and vanish so quickly.

“It would not hurt to ask,” Dimitri decided. He didn't want Byleth to consider it being used though. She was worth more than that.

Finding her was a larger issue. 

Neither he nor his classmates had seen Byleth in a moon, the mock battle of the three houses and Annette’s birthday having already passed. Felix mocked him for driving her away before Annette noted that she had seen him asking her how she was doing after the lesson the last day she had been spotted. As Mercedes suggested he look for her in the other classes, she was met with some hesitance. Although, Dimitri couldn’t keep her connection to the ghostly rumors to himself if he wanted to learn anything.

More surprisingly, they weren’t particularly shocked when Dimitri informed them that Byleth wasn’t a student. Sylvain burst out in laughter, finding it hilarious that Dimitri had managed to go on a date with a ghost, though the prince of Faerghus continued to refute that claim. Ashe was the only one to pale at the information. His color was not faded for long as he could recall her friendly but distant nature.

“We are all willing to help you talk to her again,” Ingrid said surveying their nods. “The question is how we could help. As far as we know only Felix, Ashe, Annette, and your Highness can see her.”

Dimitri crossed his legs and leaned against the desk. They had gathered at his request in the Blue Lions room. Candles and moonlight filtered through the stained glass were the only things to illuminate their pushed together desks for them all to sit at.

Ashe unfolded a paper from his jacket, smoothing it out on the table. “This might be some help.” 

Since he and Annette were the only ones to sit directly on the table, Sylvain had no issues leaning over and grabbing it before Felix or Ingrid had a chance to. “Let’s see what we have here,” he said with a glimmer in his eye.

“In column one with an ‘X’, we have: greenhouse, cathedral, docks, classrooms, stables, and training grounds. Column number two—” Felix rolled his eyes at his peace sign. “—marked by a few question marks, we’ve got: the knight's hall, main hall, and the gardens. Last but not least, with a cute little smiley face is: the dorms, library and second floor, plus the dining hall and marketplace.”

“Oh?” Ingrid stood up to look over the Gautier’s shoulder. “Did you make this list?”

Ashe rubbed the back of his head and smiled. “Yes, I made it after I spoke to Alois while there was all the buzz about the ghost going around.”

“That’s amazing,” Mercedes praised. “I do wish I could have heard about this before. So now finding her will be easier with only six– no, five areas to look for her in if we lump the docks and greenhouse together!”

“I’m afraid she does visit the dorms and second floor library as well,” Dimitri corrected.

“The main hall too,” Ashe said with dejection, “It was an incomplete list. I only had the reports he told me about to go off.”

They frowned at the ever-growing circle that they could search in what with limited people.

Felix crossed his arms. “You’re all idiots. We don’t need a list.”

“We’re trying our best,” Annette said pushing her bottom lip out as she turned her back to him in mock anger.

“What do you suggest then?” Ingrid asked, patting Annette on the head playfully.

Felix looked at the blonde as if the answer was obvious. “Where do ghosts normally show up?” He asked back.

Mercedes beamed, “Ah! Cemeteries, of course!” 

“That… that actually makes a lot of sense,” Sylvain said. They all liked that theory. It was a small location and reasonable. Mercedes offered to have them look based on a schedule but their leader declined, preferring to wait by himself. The redhead tilted his head to Dimitri. “Well, have fun finding her there but just don’t, you know, try and dig her up.” 

Dimitri groaned into his palm as Ingrid came to his rescue. “His Highness would never rob a grave! Please, don’t suggest anything like that ever again,” she begged with a wince at the thought.

With little more to talk about along with the late hour, they all said good night and returned to their dorm rooms.

He switched his schedule up easily in the coming days, training in the mornings and visiting the small cemetery by the knight's hall in the evenings. No one came to watch the prince. That was a benefit of the graveyard's location.

While he waited, Dimitri found the headstone with two faded names sorely neglected. He did his best to spruce it up. The weeds around it removed and fresh flowers made it look much nicer. He didn’t dare try and remove the dust that had accumulated in the crevices of the dates for fear he would accidentally destroy the engravings forever.

It was a shame that the birth and deaths of the two overlapped. The second name’s pair of dates, from the 20th of the Horsebow to the 8th of the Wyvern moon, made his eyes cloud with sadness each time he glanced at it. Nineteen days was too short of a time to have to be buried in.

Dimitri had other things to think about such as the preparations for taking down the rebellion forming in Faerghus. More than the nameless faces of bandits, the Blue Lions would be dealing with Ashe’s own family. 

Halfway through the moon, with a bundle of fresh lavender and forget-me-nots that Dedue assisted him in wrapping, Dimitri found a familiar face at the bottom of the stairs.

“Captain Jeralt,” he said politely.

The man turned around. He looked at the item in the blond’s arms with wide eyes and relaxed into a smile. “Just Jeralt is fine since I’m only here to help the Knights of Seiros as a mercenary. You’re Prince Dimitri, right?” Jeralt asked.

“The one and only, but I would rather you not use the formalities for me as well." Dimitri spoke as he continued to the grave as usual, placing the flowers down tenderly before stepping back so the two stood next to each other. "What brings you here?”

“That feels like something I should be asking you,” Jeralt laughed. “I was beginning to wonder who was leaving these.”

Dimitri’s ear reddened as he realized how silly it was for him to be reversing their roles. Seventeen-year-olds weren’t particularly well known for grave keeping.

“My apologies, it was selfish of me,” Dimitri blurted.

“Relax, kid.” The former captain sorrowfully smiled at the flowers as he placed a hand on Dimitri’s stiffened shoulder. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m sure they’re both happy to receive so many flowers. Her mother always loved them.”

“So you knew Byleth’s mother…” Dimitri mumbled in awe, just low enough that Jeralt couldn’t hear it over the light breeze.

Jeralt stroked his beard. “Sometimes I wonder how different things could have been if I had just gotten to Byleth faster when that fire broke out. I should have as her father,” he said critically. Turning to Dimitri, he suggested they talk again over a lighter topic.

Understanding what the man silently asked, the prince ascended the stairs. He almost turned to his usual path of walking by the knight’s hall but turquoise hair caught his eye.

Byleth was leaning over the stone railing near the further set of stairs. She watched Jeralt with a neutral face but Dimitri could see how lonely her dark eyes were as he came closer. 

She glanced at him as he stopped next to her.

“I thought I would never see you again,” Dimitri said.

“I thought you didn’t want the dead following you,” she bit back and his smile wavered. 

“I wanted to apologize for that cruelness,” he confessed, “I knew you were not the same as them but I still didn't stop myself.” He gripped the stone he had rested his hand on tighter.

Byleth huffed, straightening her back out. “Of course I’m not,” she said casually. 

That drew his attention enough for him to turn his head and look down at her, curiosity plain on his features. She spared a glance at the grave. “That has one name too many. After all, I’m not among the dead yet.” She smiled back at the stunned prince softly as she placed a hand on his gauntlet. 

“I can prove it to you.”

Even through his gauntlet, he could feel the cold from her hand permeate through like a chill autumn wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have even more reveals! 
> 
> As always, I enjoy reading anything you have to say about the fic!!


	5. Entombed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a while to write between wanting to take a short break and working on my final for ceramics since last Thursday was the last day of the semester to work with wet clay. I ended up spending nearly the entire week in the art room but that first stage is done and I have thanksgiving break off! ( •̀ ω •́ )y
> 
> Despite the delay in chapters, this one is about 1.8k longer than usual o(゜▽゜o)♪
> 
> The only warnings I have is that Sylvain makes some sexual innuendo at Dimitri's expense. (hover over this for where it happens)

“Byleth…” Dimitri said looking at her hand with wide eyes.

“What do you say?” She asked. “Would you like me to prove I’m alive?”

The words caught in his throat came out as a strangled whimper. Desperately, he wanted to say yes. He wanted nothing more than that to be the truth.

But the thought of there being no proof was a heavier weight on his chest. 

She seemed to sense his turmoil, carefully raising her hand to touch his cheek. He could pull away from the frigid touch of Byleth’s at any moment but leaned into it. 

“Dimitri,” she whispered, sending chills down his spine. From her touch or voice, he didn’t know. He didn’t care.

He wanted to hold her gentle hand against him tighter, so she wouldn’t look at him like he was about to break. Dimitri found his gloved hand passing through and touching his cheek instead.

“That’s why I didn’t want you to touch me before,” she said retracting her hand all too quickly for his liking. Her melancholy eyes didn’t leave his own. “You don’t have to say anything or even make a decision now. If you want to know the truth: meet me in the cathedral when you are alone. Otherwise, I can pretend I never asked.”

He dipped his head in acknowledgment before she reminded Dimitri that he had class to prepare for the next day. That earned her a huff and pointed smile from the prince.

The Blue Lions didn’t need to ask if he had finally seen Byleth. His steadfast concentration that gave way to distant stares and recent habit of pressing his gauntlet to his lips in thought told them all they needed.

“What’s the latest, your Highness?” Sylvain asked after an unusual dismissal from class when their professor promptly decided that he was going to train before any of them could ask any questions about the material. “How has the search for you-know-who been?”

Annette paused in gathering her things with Mercedes perking up by her side. The two girls smiled at each other before eagerly taking their seats. Felix, who was already one foot out the door, stopped when he caught the redhead’s words. 

“I didn’t think my selfish interests were so important,” Dimitri forced a chuckle out to try and ease their intent stares.

Ingrid pushed her notebook shut with a frown. “You barely ask for anything. Not that that’s a bad thing, your Highness,” she said earnestly, “I don’t think I am alone in saying that we were happy you came to us about Byleth.” 

Dedue and Ashe nodded thoughtfully, the latter vocally agreeing with Ingrid. The rest voiced their agreements soon after aside from Felix. His agreement was given by silent arms crossing as he took a seat near the door so as to not seem overly interested in the conversation like the rest who had moved closer to Dimitri.

“Very well,” their prince smiled, “We met again shortly after I happened across Jeralt at her– the cemetery.” He hesitated to call it her grave. Without their last meeting, he might have said those words confidently. “We didn’t speak long and I was able to briefly greet her a few mornings since then. That is all.”

“Thank you for the briefing,” Mercedes said lightly giggling. She didn’t mean to tease but it was far too easy.

Annette waited for her own laughter to subside before asking the now red-eared Dimitri about why the former knight of Seiros was there in the first place. He tried to relax with a deep breath so his explanation sounded less stiff like the oldest had pointed out. 

Providing that he was there to visit Byleth and her mother along with further explanation that he was Byleth’s father. Many of the Lions’ expressions grew sullen. A blanket of silence falling on them.

“How tragic,” Ashe commented, knitting his brows.

Dedue spoke for the first time. “Indeed,” he said. “It is hard to imagine how he would feel to hear news of her spirit lingering for so many years.”

“Either way,” Sylvain added, laying his head in his arm, “from the way you guys described Byleth last time, she looks nothing like captain Jeralt.” He grinned pointedly at Dimitri. “Maybe something about her and her mom’s looks gets blonds going.”

“Sylvain!” Ingrid yelled at his short-lived joke, throwing her notebook at his back. He yelped when it hit but wouldn’t give it back until she threatened to get it back by force.

Dimitri sat confused in the midst of their scuffle but couldn’t say that Sylvain was necessarily wrong. She did keep him on his toes and he could admit that when he saw her his feet had a tendency to move before he even knew what he would say to her… 

But those thoughts were pushed aside as the door to their class creaked open, the Golden Deer’s leader peeking in.

“It’s odd to see you all here when I could have sworn I saw your teach walk pass my class a while ago.” His shoulders were relaxed as a grin spread from ear to ear, easily ignoring Felix eyeing him with suspicion. “Someone might think you were up to something.”

“We could say the same to you,” Ingrid said narrowing her eyes. “What do you want?”

“Fair point,” Claude said with a shrug. “His royalness is usually the last one out so I was going to see if I grab him before he left to train. Plans change though– Why don’t we all come to my class?”

Felix raised a brow to the house leader. “There is nothing to gain from following you anywhere,” he said plainly.

Opting to continue to ignore the swordsman, Claude locked eyes with Dimitri, motioning to the room over with his thumb. “Unlucky little, Mari said she saw the ghost last night.” He wiped a tear that wasn’t there aside in a clear dramatization. “She’s graduated from being mistaken for one and seeing them herself.”

“That still doesn’t mean any of us need to help the Golden Deer,” Felix reminded.

Some of the Lions shot worried glances to each other in their small huddle but agreed to not mention what they had been up to.

“I planned to apologize to Marianne,” Ashe said hanging his head. “I just haven’t had the chance. I mistook her for one at that time since I didn’t know any better!”

Claude snickered at the admission. “I didn’t know you were one of the ones who’d done that. But back to the point,” Claude said only slightly more seriously, “We’re having Ignatz sketch up a picture to get an idea of what we’re dealing with. If you some of you help we can consider it a favor, from house to house that you can cash in on.” 

Felix who rolled his eyes as Sylvain practically jumped out of his seat to push Dimitri up. The rest of the Blue Lions tentatively looked at one another, his blatant disregard for the agreement they just made not exactly a shock. Dimitri verbally opposed being pushed out of the room but made no move to separate since he knew that not just Sylvain wanted to know what Byleth looked like. Dedue shook his head slowly, soon following after the rest of them.

The Golden Deer were all huddled around the sketchbook in Ignatz’s lap when Claude loudly announced the addition of eight more to their cause.

“Only half of us have seen her,” Annette corrected.

Claude gawked, “Wow! You got us beat four to one.”

“You didn’t even check how many of them saw it?” Lorenz asked with a disapproving frown. “For all we know none of them have seen more than a glance, Claude.”

“I’ll have you know his Highness knows her more intimately and personally than anyone,” Sylvain smirked and quickly retreated behind the huddle of Deer as a precaution. Ingrid was too busy watching the prince cover his blush with his hand to reel him back. Raphael didn't mind the sudden intrusion although Lysithia had to check behind her before side-eyeing him when he winked at her.

“Don't use such easily misinterpreted words!” Dimitri said looking away. “All we have done is talk.”

“And I share a wall with your room,” Sylvain teased, “Come on, back me up, Felix!” 

The one in question shook his head. “I don’t care about the carnal desires of an animal. Leave me out of this.”

"Felix!" Dimitri stammered, wanting nothing more than to shrivel up and disappear, as Dedue frowned at the redhead effectively stopping him from saying anything worse. The damage wasn’t terrible, most the room knit their brows in confusion or ignored the banter altogether. Lorenz and Ignatz, catching the meaning in Sylvain’s words were at least polite enough to pretend they didn’t understand.

“No way,” Hilda gaped. “Prince Dimitri and the ghost?!”

“Yeah, pretty sure that’s the case.” “No, you have it wrong!” Sylvain and Dimitri said in sync.

Claude pursed his lips while he looked at the blond boy shifting from mystification to awe. “I don’t talk to you for a few weeks and a lot sure has happened with you…” he said slowly nodding.

“Never mind all that!” Leonie piped up, “You guys can help Ignatz and fight after or leave.”

Claude and the Lions all agreed and settled down since that was what they had signed up for. Dimitri apologized for his and Sylvain’s behavior before the four who had seen Byleth all made themselves comfortable by the Deer’s artist. 

Mercedes and Sylvain sat by Hilda, the only from her class who remained by Ignatz’s side, so they could look over the side of the paper with the pink haired girl. The three observed quietly so that he could work in peace leaving Ingrid to mingle with the other students. She accepted Leonie and Lysithea's invitation to sit and chat with them while Dedue silently stood with Raphael who found it interesting to be talking with someone he had to look up to for once, physically speaking. Lorenz joined the two tallest with a reluctant Marianne and their conversation picked up ever so slightly. Claude drifted between groups until Ignatz politely pointed out his wandering was more distracting than anything for him. 

Felix was to the point, only stating that she was shorter than Dimitri and what colors the drawing should be in the end. Annette pointed out the lack of hairband in the drawing's current state and Ashe suggested that the uniform be altered to account for her collar. Dimitri was most helpful in describing her features and answering most of Ignatz’s further questions as expected. He would work for a few moments before letting them take a look to correct parts that they had failed to describe accurately the first time. After a while of this, Ignatz brushed as much debris off of the sheet as possible and smiled.

“I think it’s finished,” he announced to the chatting groups. 

With a squee, Hilda eagerly hopped over to pull the quiet girl to Ignatz. “So is this the one you saw?” She asked as the blue haired girl looked over his shoulder.

He offered to let her hold the sketch but she shook her head. “… It was dark but this looks like the figure I saw the priest walk through,” she said softly. “…I’m sorry I wasn’t useful.”

Sylvain waved his hand dismissively. “Nonsense, you were very helpful. Felix did the least work considering this is only a shaded piece and he was going on about colors.”

“Shut up. You aren’t the artist and you can’t even see her. If anything that makes _ you _the useless one in this situation,” Felix said. Sylvain shrugged off the criticism without taking any of it to heart. 

They passed it around so everyone could get a look. Lorenz examined it with a frown but chose to comment on the exemplary craftsmanship of the work rather than her appearance. Dedue acknowledged the work with a faint smile before passing it along. As it came round to the group of girls, Lysithea peaked at it from behind Ingrid before a sigh of relief left her.

“The ghost looks surprisingly… normal?” The white haired girl pulled a face. “It would be really unsettling to see anyone pass through it like you did.”

The blue haired girl nodded solemnly. “That did shock me.”

“I too was shocked,” Dimitri said with a small titter. “I didn’t think my hand would go right through hers. But it wasn’t unpleasant.”

“You let it touch you?!” Lysithea recoiled, grabbing on to her arms before a shiver could travel up them at the thought. “What if it tried to possess you or something like that?”

He frowned. “_ She _ isn’t that sort of person.”

Hearing the dark tone in his voice, she backed off with her hands up, correcting her speech with a mumble. Claude narrowed his gaze, noticing the voice was the same one Dimitri had used when he had tried teasing him on the return from their first mission. He also didn’t miss the way Felix stiffened at Dimitri’s tone.

Instead of giving the chance for further instigation, the leader of the Deer suggested that they all eat in the dining hall together for a job well done.

Annette and Ashe sat with Dimitri who had been prepared to eat alone with his thoughts after encouraging Dedue to take up Mercede’s offer of eating with Ingrid, Raphael, and herself. The three talked about their studies before Annette noticed that Dimitri was drifting farther from their conversation. Asking if everything was alright, he lied to his classmate evenly saying he was tired. With that, he excused himself by noting he would turn in early so neither she nor Ashe could ask any more although he could tell they somewhat doubted his answer.

While he did return to his room, Dimitri only remained there a matter of minutes at most. 

As soon as he spotted the medal Byleth gave him, he took it and left with her on his mind. He fastened the brooch to the spot it had been previously on his holster and decided it was time to take up her offer as he made his way to the cathedral. 

Dimitri smiled as he spotted Byleth sitting on the steps with her eyes peacefully closed. He slowed though it didn’t do much to quiet the sound of his metal boots clanking as he was directly in front of her. 

She lifted her head and opened her eyes to greet him warmly after he didn’t say anything.

“I hope I didn’t wake you from a nap,” Dimitri said scratching his cheek. “If you still find my bed comfortable you’re free to sleep there when you would like.” She blinked widely and his cheeks flushed. Waving his hand to dispel the implication, he hastily added an explanation. “I say that because you said you don’t have a room of course! I wouldn’t want you to have to sleep in the cold.”

“Thank you,” Byleth said lightly concealing a laugh. “I would love to accept but that would be difficult considering my situation.”

“Is it?” he asked.

She raised her arms into the familiar position she put them in while thinking of what to say. “You’ll understand… If you still want me to show you that is.”

“I do,” Dimitri nodded, a serious composure overtaking him. “I would like to know all I can about you. Please, spare no details.”

Her lips curled up at his answer and Byleth motioned for her to follow her. He obliged and the worshipers paid him little mind as they walked through the gate and past the pews until she stopped at the side door where they could see the well outside.

She sighed, her mouth slightly twitching in annoyance. “We may have to wait until that guard changes shifts before we can go over there without you being noticed.” Dimitri followed where she pointed to. The tower that laid connected to the cathedral by the short stone path. 

“Or maybe not if you don’t make much noise,” she said after a pause, taking in the guard’s face. “It looks like he’s asleep.”

He remained, thankfully, undisturbed as the prince crept by. Intermittently, Dimitri did look back as a precaution but there was no need to worry as the guard continued to rest against his lance and the wall to his back.

“This where the archbishop stands when I see her outside of her audience chamber…” he whispered. Though he was speaking to himself as he looked the small pillar over, Byleth nodded in affirmation at his words while she carefully opened the door. 

He entered the door and was more surprised to find that it led directly to a winding staircase that let them go up or down. Dimitri closed the door behind him gently. While he did so, Byleth cast a fire spell to light their descent downwards.

The only noise aside from the flickering light were the echoes of his footsteps reverberating off the walls. Dimitri had difficulty determining how far down she would lead him as he lost count of the number of stairs somewhere after forty. Although that had been the extent of his count they had much more than that to cover.

“This takes longer than I imagined it would. One moment,” Byleth said coming to a stop as the fire she held sizzled out. She cast it again and in its flare, he thought that she had almost disappeared for a split second. “Is this better?”

Dimitri rubbed his eyes. “Yes, thank you…”

“If you need to take a break. I wouldn’t mind,” she offered, turning to look at him. She had to crane her neck upwards with his height and the distance on the stairwell.

“That’s not it.” Dimitri shook his head. She tilted her head in wordless response. “Could I ask you some questions while we walk?”

She opened her mouth and closed it. He wasn’t sure what Byleth was thinking about but she nodded, keeping her response to its usual brevity. “Please do, Dimitri.”

Byleth nearly missed the bashful smile that crossed his face when she turned to lead him the rest of the way down.

There was something about hearing her say his name that almost made him forget what he was going to say. He ignored the butterflies as he cleared his throat. “Ahem, I had been wondering what determines whether you’re seen or not. That and what causes things to pass through your body.” 

“Ah,” she trailed, “I wish I knew the full answer to that first one too. But strong light like just now can have that effect.” His eyes remained fixed on the back of her head. She didn’t appear bothered but rather amused as she started to walk just a bit more rhythmically. “Students go on ‘ghost hunts’ for me nearly each year but none of those groups ever do much besides pester the staff. If not in that group they either run from or ignore me – it’s hard to say how many ignore me because they know I’m not one of them or if they don’t see me in the first place.”

“I’m afraid I was apart of both of those groups,” Dimitri said apologetically.

Byleth glanced back quickly with narrow eyes. “I wouldn’t count asking other students as pestering," she said to assure him.

“Two years ago there was a group that broke into Seteth’s office to look up records on past students and didn’t even bother to clean up afterward.” Byleth chuckled at the memory of the man returning to his office post scavenge. “Everyone had their hands full that year.”

“And I don’t blame you for being upset with me,” she added. “I told you I would tell you the truth and I meant it. That misunderstanding happened because I enjoyed being by your side and didn't want things to change between us.” She slowed as the spell ran out once more before casting it again, warning him like she had the last time. 

He saw the same brief moment where Byleth disappeared again but didn’t rub his eyes, knowing it wasn't his mind tricking him now. “You say that but things have changed,” Dimitri said with a frown. “I don’t know how I might begin to earn your trust back after I lashed out at you.”

She hummed softly, pretending to think about what the one behind her might do. “You could call us even by figuring out a way for me to take a look outside of the monastery, maybe even take me to Faerghus with you after you’re done with your studies,” she said lightly followed by an even softer sigh. “I’m joking. We both know that’s not feasible— So promise me something instead.”

“Yes?” Dimitri said hastily. 

He recalled her mentioning being unable to leave the grounds of Garreg Mach with regret.

“Take good care of the brooch and don’t try and return it again.” Byleth’s tone was friendly but direct as she spoke.

“You thought that I…” he started but stopped to blink, unsure of how to respond. She didn’t realize how he had come to rely on its presence during that period where he could not find her in the monastery. Even after reuniting, the thought of returning the memento had not crossed his mind again. Its cold surface reminding him of what it might feel like to hold on to her hand though he dared not tell her. 

“Very well,” Dimitri agreed, “If I may confess, I no longer wish to part with it.”

The fire Byleth cast extinguished without dulling. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but found that a green hue was illuminating the steps before them.

“We’re here,” Byleth trailed, deftly moving to the side so he could take in the expanse of room and the eerie glow it held.

He eyes drifted from the intricate carvings of the stone pillars that lined the room to the throne that sat directly in front of them. His face scrunched, trying to make out what was on top of the space. “That’s…” He hesitated. 

“My body,” she finished for him.

He couldn’t his disbelief as his features smoothed. “That’s impossible. Are you not standing by my side?” Dimitri turned to Byleth, the latter's eyes distantly ahead with her mouth set in a firm line. 

Her answer was to walk to the stairs, leading him down further. His legs itched to run to the stairs across from the entrance but he held back. Once by her side, Dimitri matched his walking speed to Byleth.

Scanning the rest of the room he noticed how tall the ceiling was. Cables holding blue lights retreated into the darkness above before one could tell its height. It was no wonder they had been walking for so long.

Matching blue lights protruded from the ground near the columns and elevated diamond in the center. His eyes wandered to the raised surfaces' uniform shapes around the pillars. 

“These look like graves,” Dimitri remarked with a twinge of uncertainty.

Byleth crossed her arms loosely. “Would you have believed I’m alive if I told you I would be taking you to a tomb?”

“I believe that it may have been more difficult if you had.”

Perking up, Byleth smiled at the prince. “You still would have come?”

He looked away from the stone markers to her face and found the tension he hadn’t noticed in his shoulders leave him in an instant. The soft way her eyes crinkled made him smile in return.

“You’re too trusting.” She closed her eyes with a laugh. “Any normal person wouldn’t agree to come to a secluded location without any other information. More so for someone who will be the head of a country — This is the fastest way to be killed.”

The one in question pouted. “I am not that foolish,” Dimitri protested. “Few people have my trust like you do, Byleth.”

“I’m flattered to hear that. But do be careful when you speak like that,” Byleth said teasing him. Raising a brow to her, Dimitri asked for clarification. “Like you don’t know how that could get someone's hopes up,” she replied with an expression of concern. Talking made the rest of the walk shorter as they stood before the steps that towered above them.

“Careful on the steps,” Byleth cautioned, taking the first step leaving Dimitri to steel himself before his own ascent.

His fists were tight and he gulped as came to a stop at the top of the small platform which housed nothing but the stone seat. In another situation, he might have asked if this was Byleth’s twin as he studied her form. 

Her hair was so long it spilled over the seat of the chair and her clothes were remarkably similar to the robes of a bishop rather than the mid-length hair and uniform he was so used to.

To make sure wasn’t seeing things, Dimitri looked to the Byleth he knew. She looked at him with a sadness in her eyes that he couldn’t describe as she gradually came to stand beside the version of herself that was so foreign to the prince.

“I’ve been like this for as long as I can remember,” Byleth explained, sitting on the armrest. “I used to wake but one day my eyes just never opened. I don’t have any memories from that time as I was far too young to recall it now. This—” She gestured to her speaking form. “—has probably been going on since that day as well. As you can see, I can alter my appearance slightly. And hold things for limited times but everything slips through after that time is up.”

Dimitri frowned. “Pardon me but that does not explain how you could be alive with how old you are. Surely you must need food and water?”

“I used to wonder about that,” she said thoughtfully, “but all I know is that something is keeping me alive.”

“I would hardly call this living,” Dimitri said, eyeing her place near, well, herself with uncertainty.

She shrugged. There were certainly drawbacks: no sleeping or eating being her main concerns. But she could go wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted within Garreg Mach.

Turning his eyes to her with sincerity, Byleth tilted her head at Dimitri. “May I check your pulse?” he asked in a hushed voice. “I would like to be certain.”

“Of course,” Byleth said. She thought it unreasonable to refuse.

She watched as he took his gauntlets off and set them on the other armrest. Dimitri carefully placed a knee on the throne and glanced to her face. A last look to affirm he could proceed. Doing nothing, he proceeded.

Reaching out, Dimitri placed a hand on her chin and paused, momentarily surprised by her body temperature. Her skin was not very warm but he was relieved to know it was not cold to the touch. 

He continued, tilting her head upward, pressing two fingers to her throat. Byleth wanted to ask if he was alright as she saw his hand tremble. It stopped all too suddenly and his shoulders sagged at the same moment a smile broke on his face. He let out a small laugh which shocked her, although she did well to hide it from him.

“I was worried there would be no pulse,” Dimitri confessed. She narrowed her eyes but there was no anger in them as he pulled away from her body. “I know that you would not have brought me here if that were the case.” He didn’t catch her nod as he moved to replace his gauntlets.

They remained in the tomb and spoke for Sothis knows how long. He suggested methods that they might try to wake her up only for her to shake her head and tell him she had tried most all of them at one point or another in the past. 

From there, they talked about themselves.

To his surprise, Byleth told him she often practiced in the training grounds at night. That not only being the source of her figuring out she could hold objects but also what lead to her later trying her hand at practicing her faith and reason skills. Logically, she had a much easier time with those although she admitted she enjoyed using the physical weapons more. As she opened up, he did as well. Divulging his goal of revenge being his motivation to attend the Officers Academy, Dimitri didn't hesitate to tell also tell her Dedue’s suggestion to ask for her help. Rather than give him the chance to let her refuse, Byleth offered to assist in finding information he would be unable to access.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to chill out on my cliffhanger-ing for once! It's never mentioned where the Holy Tomb is (that is if my memory serves me right haha...) but I remembered that during the moon of Flayn's kidnapping, Rhea stood in front of that tower so that was my inspiration for where the entrance is.
> 
> I changed my penname on here to match [my art twitter](https://twitter.com/libra__bun) where I occasionally draw things and talk to myself. It just felt better for my creative things to have matching handles (～￣▽￣)～
> 
> As always I love hearing your thoughts so comments are always welcome!


	6. Truth of the Matter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a whole lot to say before this chapter besides that I hope you enjoy reading this next installment!
> 
> The only warning I have is that, while it's not very graphic, there's technically some violence.

The library became largely unoccupied as several students described seeing books flip open on their own or fall to the ground without warning. Bright eyed, Claude and Hilda took it upon themselves to investigate the incidents. The two recruited Annette and Mercedes along with Dorothea and Petra to help with covering as many sections as they could.

“It feels like we’re invading her personal space,” Annette said to her friend as she browsed the advanced magic bookshelves of the second level. They were in charge of searching that floor since the redhead volunteered faster than either of the other two groups.

Mercedes looked through the aisles with disappointment. As she came back to Annette, she smiled. “This is a communal space. I don’t think Byleth would mind us coming in here as long as we don’t make too much noise,” she said in a hushed tone.

Annette sighed as she took a nearby book and flipped first to its table of contents, then to the index. “I know but there’s so many of us that came today and from everything his Highness has told us, Byleth seems to prefer being alone. Ashe has only spoken with her a few times and I've only seen her once.” Unsatisfied with what the book had to offer, she replaced it on the shelf. “What if you were Byleth and a whole bunch of people came to bother you while you were trying to read?”

Before the older of the two could respond, she waved to Linhardt who had peaked around a bookcase at them. His eyes scanned over the two of them with indifference as both faced him, waiting to see what he needed from them.

“So the girl in the white collar is Byleth. Is that right?” Linhardt said with curiosity.

“Oh my!” Mercedes covered her mouth with her hand as she remembered where they were. “You’ve seen her?”

He furrowed his brow. “It’s quite hard not to when she’s always interrupting my research by dropping books every ten minutes.”

“I knew it was her,” Annette triumphed quietly pumping her fist by her chest.

Linhardt ignored her action, instead yawning. “She is a very interesting woman. I can see why the prince of Faerghus would be apt in acquainting himself with her,” he said casually. Mercedes shared a questioning look with Annette before he continued.

“I suppose he and Edelgard alike when it comes to talking about personal affairs. If you must know,” Linhardt said waiting just long enough for them to open their mouths but short enough that neither one had room to voice the question, “I believe it’s her crest and uncanny knowledge of the library that makes her so interesting. I have found books faster by asking her than by talking with Tomas or any of the other library staff for that matter.”

Mercedes giggled lightly, “I highly doubt Dimitri’s interest stems from her crest or knowledge of books.”

“You are the only person besides Professor Hanneman who pays that much attention to crests,” the redhead agreed looking at the thick book on crests under his arm as he shifted to a more comfortable position. “You could probably surpass him easily after graduation.”

Linhardt smiled at the sentiment. “I only know that she has been here the last week researching something for him. He was here just this morning telling her to take a break when she told him she had been here longer than I had. Although I don’t know what it is they’re searching for, the books tell me it has to do with the church and empire." He raised his right hand dismissively. "Probably, looking into trade or finances for future reference."

"That does sound like something his Highness would want to look into before he takes the crown," Annette said. "But you don't sound like you care about that."

“True. All that matters is that I have her help finding what I need and permission to look into her crest and anything she does is her business as far as I'm concerned. Speaking of, do either of you happen to know who she is descended from?”

Shaking her head, Annette told him she didn’t. Mercedes was quick to agree with the lie. Buying it from the second’s apologetic face, he left them to their own devices where they chatted about what sweets they would make together that evening.

Dorothea eventually came up to ask if they had seen or heard anything out of the ordinary. Upon informing the songstress that they had turned up nothing of importance, the three returned to the first level of the library.

“Was the luck with you?” Petra asked as they approached.

“No, they didn’t find anything either,” Dorothea sighed, “If I had known we would find nothing, I wouldn’t have chosen to spend the entire morning here. Eddie still wants our help finding clues about what might happen during the Goddess’ Right of Rebirth.”

“Aww,” Claude said approaching their circle at the foot of the stairs. “Cheer up, there’s still some morning left. You can even have the information I found while talking to the staff here to give to her. Think of it as you owe me one.”

“Haha. I’ll think of it as you saying thanks for looking for the ghost with you since _you _asked _ me_,” Dorothea said dryly. 

He shrugged and made a copy of the notes he’d taken down on the nearest desk. Hilda took that time to invite both Blue Lions to lunch. The two agreed in unison and asked if Petra would like to join. First declining to say she had promised to eat with Dorothea, the one mentioned asked if they could make it a girls-only lunch as she snatched the notes from Claude with a grin.

“Unfair,” Claude said with a shake of his head. “I guess the only way to retaliate is to organize a boys-only meal of my own.” 

Hilda was the only one to quicky wish him good luck in the endeavor. Which didn’t come as a surprise given she was the last to leave, all the rest too excited at the chance to talk to pay him more mind.

He attempted to put together a dinner for as many of the boys to partake in as possible.

An impossible feat he soon realized. 

Lorenz would be willing as long as it did not interfere with any time he had promised to various noble girls in the monastery. Although his leader doubted that many would show up as expected, Claude didn’t doubt Sylvain’s exact same dilemma, a girl already on his arm. Caspar agreed to show up once he convinced Linhardt or got hungry, whichever came first. The latter was more expected.

Ferdinand promised to attend if Hubert did not and vice versa. In the same vein, Felix said he may consider attending if Dimitri wasn’t coming while Dedue’s acceptance was contingent the opposite. The Blue Lions followed a pattern as Ashe didn’t outright reject Claude but rather inquired as to whether Dedue would be in attendance.

The only guarantees he had were from Raphael and Ignaz. And that would just make it a herd of Deer when Lorenz would eventually join them after offending his date should the girl show up in the first place.

His hopes of getting Dimitri to show up were dashed ever so swiftly as Claude round the corner.

He saw the prince with Jeralt Eisner and he didn’t even have the chance to say hello to the two as the younger blond’s cheery voice invaded his ears. “I would be honored to have dinner with you Jeralt.” Dimitri bowed but the grace of it was hampered by his excitement.

Claude wanted to be mad. The sparkling eyes and terrible attempts to quell that grin of Dimitri’s made the anger fade as fast as it tried to rise.

Dimitri had met with Jeralt shortly after he had left the training ground. 

He was nervous at the start of the conversation. A little guilty about having asked for favors from the man's daughter even though Byleth assured him more times than the prince could count that she was choosing to spend her time researching of her own volition.

It felt odd to admit but the man was a little too easy to relax around for having the title of Blade Breaker attached to his name. It didn’t help that the head pats and affectionate way he called him “kid” made him think that maybe, just maybe his own father might have smiled at him like that if things had been different.

The two of them merely caught up. Jeralt told Dimitri that he had recently accepted a formal position to be the captain of the Knights of Seiros again followed by a quick reminder not to call him captain and the prince’s laughter.

Their dinner was a continuation of sorts as Dimitri hurried to claim two empty seats. He almost asked if they might take the empty seats by Felix and Hubert but Claude’s insistence that the seats were taken made him think otherwise.

“So have you made many friends here?” Jeralt asked as they began their meal. Dimitri nodded and recounted many of the students' names making sure to tell him a little bit about each of them. 

It wasn’t part of the question but the boy couldn’t help but tell Jeralt about his five he was closest to before becoming classmates as well. The former mercenary had to stop him mid coverage of describing how Dedue’s cooking brought everyone together as he noticed a piece of onion on his cheek from the gratin soup they had been leisurely eating.

Simple in gesture, Jeralt licked his thumb and easily leaned over the table to wipe the food off Dimitri’s face. Realizing why the older one had acted so, he picked up his napkin and quickly wiped his face off with a twinge of embarrassment in case anything else was stuck.

“I’m terribly sorry you had to do that, dad,” Dimitri said without batting an eye.

Jeralt and the prince’s eyes shut and open during a long delay. Dimitri’s smiled twitched as his words dawned on him, caught between admitting the mistake and concentrating on not breaking the table under his grip.

After laughter burst from Jeralt, Dimitri did both. The wood snapped as he apologized for his blunder. Their bowls, regretfully, shattered when they hit the ground in the absence of their table and newfound broken planks.

It was a comical sight. Dimitri leaning down to pick up broken pieces as apologies tumbled out of his mouth like a mantra all while a mere knight doubled over in laughter. But few others dared laugh knowing it would be an insult to the future leader of Faerghus with the consequences unknown.

“Stop— Dimitri,” Jeralt managed between fits, “Phew… Kid please.” He put a hand on the teen's shoulder to try and stop him and his laughter.

The motion was successful but made Dimitri clench his fist involuntarily. The sharp edges of the shards in his hands cut through his gloves and flesh effortlessly. 

As the pain shot through his fingers and palms, he nearly swore and rose a fist to his mouth unwisely before clenching his jaw and eyes shut as the unpleasant feeling of the shards digging further into his skin irked him.

“Let me help you with that,” Jeralt said grabbing Dimitri’s wrist and pulling him to stand. He winced empathetically as he examined the way the larger pieces barely stuck out through the shredded black fabric.

Dimitri tried to take his hand back but found Jeralt’s hold was firm without the use of his crest or other hand. “This is nothing,” Dimitri said with an even tone. 

Even though it did hurt like hell.

“You might be tolerant to pain given where you grew up but I don’t think having a bowl in your hand is something even a person from Faerghus would call nothing,” he replied sternly. With his hand firmly open, Jeralt began gently removing the pieces he could with his large fingers. “I think we’ll need to take you to the infirmary…”

Almost to prove a point, Dimitri raised his free hand and ripped a piece out with his teeth and spit it on to the broken table beside them. At the sound, Jeralt lifted his head and grimaced. More so as he said that the pain was inconsequential.

Dimitri repeated the action and the man smacked him on the head. 

“Stop that!” he warned. “It doesn’t matter if that doesn’t hurt you. If you damage a nerve you might struggle to hold another spoon let alone a weapon.”

That seemed to work as Dimitri paused in pulling out a third shard. As soon as he lowered his hand from his face, Jeralt was pulling him out of the dining hall and towards the second floor infirmary.

Manuela shot him a flirtatious grin as Jeralt barged through the door of her office, an intense look on his features. It was short lived as she took in the blood that the prince had not bothered to wipe from his mouth and the droplets of blood that were falling from his hands.

She let out an exasperated breath, motioning to the beds. “I knew I would see you in here eventually. But I thought it would be after a mission or one of your wild Blue Lion’s sparring matches,” she said giving his hands a quick lookover before rummaging through her cabinets for what she would need.

Jeralt helped pull the gauntlets off as Dimitri couldn’t do that himself with either of them watching him. “Forgive me,” he said aimed at both of them.

What was left of his gloves was carefully cut off by Manuela to reveal his hands which had already been marred before this incident. She didn’t comment on the state of his hands' old scars, focusing on carefully removing the ceramic chunks with small metal tongs. Jeralt took a seat on the other bed and listened with amusement after Manuela started to explain Jeritza's focus on fighting was like adding fuel to fire for children raised in the Holy Kingdom.

“Has no one told you that it's childish to play with your food?” the physician asked once enough pieces had gathered on the tray beside him to tell her it was a bowl embedded in his palms. 

Dimitri hung his head, further as Jeralt spoke up. “Don’t be too harsh on him,” he said, “It’s my fault. I spooked him while he was picking up the pieces.” Manuela looked at him doubtfully. “He was only picking them up because I was too busy losing it. Honest!” he snickered at the memory of the prince's dumbstruck face right before it all went down.

“Can I be let in on the joke then?” Manuela asked as a brow rose with her interest. Dimitri’s face reddened and she smiled gently. “That’s alright. I don’t need to know everything about my parents.” 

Encouraging him to bite a piece of wood wrapped in cloth, Manuela attended to the deeper and smaller pieces. Dimitri did not need to bite down like she thought he would, surprisingly, the pain had subsided to a dull ache almost as soon as he was dragged through the halls. The more invasive pricks weren’t so bad either. Because of that, the wood just sat there as he did: awkwardly.

It was uncomfortable to show his hands or even take his gauntlets off around others. It was too personal. Too intimate. Sure, he took them off while he had been with Byleth but it was only to check for her pulse and there was still a separation of his gloves, he reasoned.

“All finished with that,” Manuela clapped before grabbing the wood and tossing it onto the tray covered with his blood. She moved it aside and picked up a roll of bandages before turning back to him.

He wanted to retract as she touched the skin of his palm directly. The woman had only been holding onto his wrist for treatment but it was still too much.

“How odd…” she mused looking from one open palm to the other. She prodded where the shards had been and his face remained neutral.

Jeralt leaned over to take a closer look at his hands. “What do you mean?”

“Those were deep cuts… I knew it was odd while I was working… This is stranger.”

Dimitri pulled his hands away as soon as he had the chance and she frowned. “I don’t believe anything is amiss. They no longer hurt at all so thank you, Professor Manuela. I don’t think I will need any further treatment,” he insisted.

Her frown intensified but he wouldn’t move his hands away from his chest. 

“They may look healed, however, I don’t want to see you in the training grounds for the next three days,” she instructed, “Do not wear your gauntlets for the next seven. And I’d like to ask that you wear white gloves for the time being.”

“Apologies, don’t believe I own a pair of white gloves. Will black not do?” Dimitri asked.

“Would you like me to have to go through the trouble of making you take them off each time I come to inspect your hands?” Manuela said lightly. “It’s enough for me to see if they’re bleeding or not.”

“Of course,” he said vexed. Dimitri took his gauntlets from Jeralt and left them cradled in his arms as the two left Manuela. He paused in the hall to slip on a pair of extra gloves that had been in his pocket, shifting the metal from side to side as he pulled them on.

The chuckle beside him made Dimitri aware that he had no sooner stepped out of the room before directly disobeying the woman’s orders. “I did not– This is only temporary. I will have to buy the others tomorrow,” Dimitri assured.

“Yes, yes,” Jeralt smiled as they left the second floor, “your secret is safe with me, your Highness.”

He deflated at the title, back to formalities he supposed. “I see… well, thank you then, Captain Jeralt.”

“I was only teasing,” he said quickly. “Although, if I did have to pick something for you to call me other than my name. ‘Dad’ wouldn’t be terrible. But I don’t think it fits me too well.”

“I’m not always great at noticing jokes of that sort. I will remember to just call you Jeralt in the future,” he said with all the sincerity he could convey. “It was a slip up during dinner.” But he still thought it fit him.

The man chuckled and patted him heavy on the back. “I know, kid. If you were anyone else I might have gotten angry,” Jeralt reckoned with a toothy grin.

Dimitri knit his brows and looked up. “Because of my position?” He questioned.

“Nah, because you’re a good kid.” Jeralt tousled Dimitri’s hair. 

The other hid his face not sure how to explain that, no, he wasn’t a good kid. He wanted to be honest with Jeralt. That was how he wanted to be seen, a perfect prince. But every terrible deed he had done said otherwise.

Not to mention the plans he had in mind for the near future could hardly be considered acceptable to the Goddess herself let alone those around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses for what Dimitri is planning on doing? ( ͡• ͜ʖ ͡< )
> 
> I've already started in on the next chapter but I don't know when it'll be ready for posting since I'm in the last two weeks of this semester of uni. Because of that, I'm trying to wrap anything I need to before working on this <strike>and I may or may not be planning on using my print quota to print out an absurd number of Dimitri pictures...</strike>
> 
> I've been rereading all of your comments a lot while writing so I wanted to thank everyone who's commented so far! You've really helped keep me pumped to get chapters out💖


	7. Underlying Intentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gee willikers... It's been over a month since I last updated! I got nervous about responding to comments since I felt like too much time had elapsed for me to say anything about them (A dumb worry I know but I worry that it's bad to respond if more than a day or two passed bc, again, I'm dumb) The guesses though were all pretty close!
> 
> There isn't much to say in the way of warnings for this chapter (～￣▽￣)～

“Starting today we are having some joint classes with the Black Eagles,” announced Jeriza as and he had finished counting their heads for attendance.

Ashe and Ingrid smiled at each other from across the walkway and Sylvain leaned on his elbows. “Don’t get me wrong, that sounds like fun. All the chances to drop a pen and brush hands as she says ‘Oh, sorry for bumping into you!’ as I pick it up. Then we share a longing glance—” Sylvain started but noticed Dedue shaking his head the farther he strayed off topic, he moved quickly to his original point. “—But weren’t we supposed to spend most of this week in the training grounds?” 

“He means: the grounds will be cramped with all of them and no one wants that,” Felix corrected.

Annette tilted her head, “Could you not get permission for us to have the training ground to ourselves?”

“We did get permission,” their professor said moving only his eyes to look at Dimitri who had been fiddling with his gloves. 

“Manuela informed me that I would be put at fault if your house leader picks up a weapon until she says so.” The irritation in his voice was plain to hear, but some of them were more curious as to why such caution was needed. “I do not plan on being a babysitter so the nine of them will join us.”

"Please forgive me, everyone,” Dimitri said to his classmates, his smile strained. “I am fine and my injuries have healed. Shall we be on our way then? We wouldn’t want to keep them waiting.” Ingrid and Sylvain exchanged doubtful looks but no one questioned it further for the moment.

The moment they walked through the large doors of the training hall, they could see that the students from Adrestia had already begun to move into groups per the end of an instruction Edelguard gave.

Caspar waved his hand in the air enthusiastically as he saw Ashe from behind Dedue’s tall figure. “Hey, Ashe! Do you like axes? You can work with Edelgard and me,” Caspar said. He was loud enough that they might have thought that he had been right next to the Lions if it were not for the fact they could see him clear on the other side of the open space.

“If they have split up by proficiencies then you should all do the same,” Dimitri said with a hand to his chin. Ashe shook his head to Caspar and pointed to the shelves holding quivers and arrows.

Dedue walked over to the rambunctious teen and Caspar hollered with excitement. Dorothea came over to retrieve Annette so they could work on their reason magic together. She also directed Felix to Petra who had already begun attacking the training dummies with her sword. Walking to Manuela, Mercedes engaged the woman in conversation by Linhardt who struggled to keep his eyes open beside them. Ingrid stood beside Dimitri even after Ashe and Sylvain left to assist Bernadetta with bringing out targets for them to shoot.

She eyed him carefully. “What will you do, your Highness?” she asked as he observed how everyone was able to get along with relative ease, pleased. She would have suggested that they each grab a lance but her gaze drifted to hands, devoid of their usual armor.

“I will have to be a spectator,” Dimitri said. His voice had a hint of dejection in it but his smile didn’t waver. “I believe you and Ferdinand both use lances so that should not be a problem.”

“Yes,” she frowned. That was not the issue she was worried about. 

Ever since they were children she knew Dimitri didn’t like to be idle. Even more so since they had come to the academy together. He would grow dejected watching them all and want to pick up a lance to join them sooner or later if he had nothing to do.

She sighed at the thought as she watched Manuela laugh at something Mercedes had said. “If you notice anything wrong with our stances, I’m sure she won’t have an issue if you come over to correct that.”

Dimitri nodded as she left and walked to the center of the room where the only two Black Eagles who hadn’t separated stood. Their conversation halted abruptly with his approach.

Hubert was the first to speak. “Is there something you need from Lady Edelgard?”

“Hello Dimitri,” Edelgard greeted. “It’s a shame you cannot join us in this rare joint training. But I will say, it is thanks to you that this is possible.” Her words had no ill intentions but he didn’t appreciate the piteous tone they took on.

He nodded his head to both of them. “Good morning to you as well. I assure you that I am perfectly fine. Your professor merely requested that I not train as a precaution.”

Edelgard’s neutral expression knit as she looked to her retainer. “You said his hands were badly injured by the shards?” She turned to the prince with a polite smile. “Hubert informed me of what happened as he was present in the dining hall.”

“Ah, I do remember seeing him,” he affirmed. “You were having dinner with Felix were you not?”

“Correct,” Hubert said with his eyes narrowing in a way that didn’t quite match up with the way his lips curved upwards. He was being analyzed but what was being evaluated eluded the prince.

“He made the whole incident all the more entertaining. Did you know that he called you an animal while you bumbled about and then compared you to a wild boar as you picked your flesh apart with your teeth?” He chuckled, narrowing his eyes further. “Perhaps you ought to observe Lady Edelgard for how to conduct yourself in a manner that receives respect from your subjects?”

So it was his character.

“That is quite enough, Hubert,” she said disapprovingly.

Dimitri shook his head. “It does not bother me. I have encouraged them to speak their mind around me so I am no stranger to the way my friends address me.” Hubert cocked a brow up at Dimitri’s words but did not voice his opinion, instead schooling his smirk. “I will leave you to your training if there is nothing else.”

It was relatively easy to stick to the sidelines while Dimitri could feel Manuela watching his back as a near constant reminder of what he should not be doing. 

She and the two healers that were with her attended to any injuries that arose from groups. There were many injuries as students relaxed and began to spar with earnest. However, Jeriza did not hold back on any of them from the start when they accepted his challenges.

Sylvain caused many near injuries to those who went to exchange weapons due to the unfortunate placement of practice targets. He was not an archer — made very clear by his inability to land a hit on any part of the targets — yet he insisted to Bernadetta that he wanted to learn from her.

Dimitri was tempted to step in and move him to the other lancers on more than one occasion but thought otherwise when he realized that the girl was surprisingly comfortable with the two from his house. At the very least, Sylvan did not appear to be hitting on her.

The second and third days of training were much the same. After classes, many of the students remained in their mixed groups to talk to each other longer. Dimitri also found it easier to pass the time by writing. 

He took down the habits of everyone who fought and marked down what he might incorporate into his own regimen as well as began a log of how the monastery spent their evenings since training then was not an option either.

Mercedes discovered what had happened and informed the rest of the class to his chagrin the very first day. Manuela would walk by less and less as she realized the Blue Lions asking how his hands were enough for her to not need to bother with the task.

He had a slight reprieve of the questions on the fourth day of training.

Linhardt had come to sit by him, saying he was taking another break from working despite him leaving all the healing to his professor and Mercedes. They did not have much to talk about. Either's attempts at small talk withered to silence until the green haired teen brought up Byleth. 

Dimitri’s interest was piqued given she had only mentioned to him that she had acquainted herself with another student in the library. She only told him of their arrangement to search for books for him but hadn’t heard that it was also to study her crest nor that she even had one in the first place.

When he asked about her crest, Linhardt gladly told him what little findings he had. The image of the oddly unbalanced crest she had, courtesy of their using Hanneman’s crest analyzer without permission. And his theory of it being a lost crest.

During his drawn out explanation of such crests, the prince stopped listening intently, not that Linhardt minded. He was just content that his ramblings could be heard by a fresh pair of ears. Dimitri rather found that he would rather be speaking to Byleth. Although, he tried to pay attention to the crest talk so as to not be rude. 

As if fated, Dimitri saw her familiar blue-green hair when a knight opened the door of the training hall to see if it was occupied. She was walking away but it was unmistakably her. 

No one else took his breath away just by existing.

“Forgive me,” Dimitri said gently interrupting Linhardt when he found the chance. “I realized I forgot ink this morning. I’ll be back.”

Before Linhardt could respond or even mention that no, his inkwell had been sitting between them the entire time, the prince was already on his way out the door.

Brimming with excitement, Dimitri called out her name as soon as he was out in the open. She had already made it to the first set of stairs by the dormitories. Nevertheless, she turned around in wait.

His cape fluttered to his back as he abruptly stopped. “I was just thinking about you,” Dimitri beamed. His breathing was a bit uneven from the sprint.

“That makes two,” Byleth said with a glance to the side. It flickered to the book in his hand with a frown. “I overheard my father telling Rhea that you were injured.”

“Yes, but really everyone is making into a much bigger deal than it is,” he pouted. “It has already healed. Professor Manuela and Jeralt saw for themselves that I am fine.”

Byleth rose a brow in doubt. 

She shook her head when he tilted his head innocently enough. “Never mind that. I wanted to speak to you about Edelgard and your Professor.”

Noting her serious tone, he glanced at their surroundings before motioning to a small recess between the dormitories and bathhouse. He held the shrubbery aside for Byleth but it proved unnecessary as he noticed her leg ghost through some of the lower hanging foliage.

“Right then, what is the trouble?” He crossed his arms, sitting with her on the grass so they could no longer be seen over the bushes if someone did chance a look in their direction.

She kept her voice low. 

It was unusual for Byleth since she knew only the ones who could see her also had the ability to hear her voice and those who could were few and far between. 

“While I was looking into the finances of the church from your suggestion,” Byelth explained, “the donations made me think something is amiss with House Arundel. They donated often through the years but without even reducing the amount of support — donations stopped.”

Putting a hand to his chin in thought, Dimitri mulled over what he was being told. “I see… Is that why you have brought up Edelgard?” he asked making eye contact.

Byleth nodded. “As his niece, I thought it may be worth investigating.”

“But?” Dimitri encouraged as her voice trailed.

“While reading documents in her room, I was nearly seen by her. What I did see suggests she also has an ulterior motive for attending the Officer’s Academy that may very well involve all of Fódlan.” 

His gaze narrowed as he covered up the frown forming on his face. “This is troubling. Do you know what this may mean for the Kingdom?”

Byleth shook her head and pulled her knees under her chin. “Not yet,” she said, staring at the wall across from them. “Many papers appeared to have information on the church and its defenses though.”

“I do hope that this amounts to nothing,” Dimitri breathed. His brow twitched but he quickly regained his composure. “What does this have to do with Professor Jeritza?” 

“He is working for the Adrestrian Empire,” she said flatly. The expression in her face was one he hadn't seen before.

Dimitri’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, his hand moving to rub the bridge of his nose from how tightly his brows had already knit. “I followed her retainer and found the two talking about the Black Eagles’ mission this moon. Hubert said their plans to have him participate with the Western Church ‘had not changed’ since he was one of their generals.”

Dimitri hung his head with an exasperated huff. “What could she gain from working with the Western Church after what happened with Ashe’s father? And shouldn't his alliance be with Faerghus and Mercedes, general or not?” The questions were spoken soft enough that Byleth knew they had only been posed to make sense of the new information. 

Knowing he would get nowhere with questions neither could answer, Byleth placed her hand on his head and rubbed the top of his hair in consolation. He sighed but made no move to stop her causing her eyes to soften towards him.

“During the Rite of Rebirth,” Dimitri said turning to Byleth. “I want to take a look at your body again.”

She blinked, confusion plain to see.

Watching him bite his lip, she found herself frowning.

“I don't mind. But that's not all you want is it?” Byleth asked moving her hand from the top of his head.

He wanted to lean into the touch as her icy fingers grazed by his cheek as much as she felt the urge to wipe the blood from his lower lip but they both knew now was not the time nor did he believe he had the right to even ask. 

Instead, Dimitri acknowledged her words with hesitation. “Would you allow it, I could take your body from there. That day all eyes will be on the Goddess and well…”

“There may not be another opportunity like it,” Byleth finished for him.

Although strained by his anticipation for what she thought of the idea, he couldn't help but smile. “Your observations are as astute as ever,” he praised. "I spent many nights thinking about that evening we shared under the cathedral. All the plans that did not work to wake you. I thought…" She brushed aside his bangs and he paused at the tender gesture. "…I thought perhaps the room may be the cause."

She broke contact with his hopeful eyes, flickering to the wall before slowly nodding. "It's one thing to go in and out unseen alone but it will not be easy to go unnoticed with a body."

Dimitri perked up instantaneously, leaning closer to her. "Then I have your consent?" he said bubbling with excitement.

He watched Byleth glance at the wall again and shake her head as if she had just heard something amusing.

"Yes, Dimitri. But," Byleth said, her eyes stern, "since I can't to much more than be a lookout, you'll have to do everything I say. Promise?"

"I promise that I, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, will listen to everything you say and will do all in my power to have you at my side," he said placing a hand over his heart.

She chuckled lightly at the second portion of his promise before Byleth reminding him of his ongoing class which he ought to return to before anyone is sent to look for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> During the extended break I took from posting, a lot happened. I mostly wound up drawing but I also wrote two more chapters that I'll post as soon as I've given them a once over. Ironically, the more I want to write the more I end up drawing... Besides that, I've started looking for work since I'm quitting school at least temporarily lol......
> 
> Anyways thank you all for being patient with my wildly inconsistent updates! I hope you enjoyed the chapter (^▽^)♪


	8. Sacrilege

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holla holla! I just want to say I love you all!!! Thank you for sticking around so far♡
> 
> I don't have any warnings for the chapter but I wanted to let you know that I will be updating the tags to say "all route spoilers" since there will at least be spoilers for BL and SS. I'll mention if CF or GD spoilers will be coming into play in a note here later if necessary (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑

He had gone over the list more times than he could keep track of but the sinking feeling that something would go wrong ate away at Dimitri. His preparations made well in advance weren’t for naught.

The Goddess’ Rite of Rebirth was almost underway as he shucked his cape off and donned robes of a priest and tucked the blue cloth into a bag underneath the robe.

In the cathedral, he was fully ignored by the Black Eagles while they listen to Edelgard give them instructions based on the intel they had gathered. He found her speech’s conviction rather ironic considering he was able to confirm that his own professor was working with her from the hand signals used between that trio in passing. The gestures were small enough that he would not have picked up on them if he had not known to look.  A small nod in passing or an odd stretch of the hands were what he found them communicating with in front of the students who were none the wiser.

“It isn’t too late to stop,” Byleth said as she approached the prince from the side. “I can see you have doubts about doing this.” She had noticed the way he had been shifting the weight of his heels.

He shook his head softly. “I have no intention of going back. It’s far too late for that.” Dimitri smiled while she knit her brow at the way he so quickly steadied his nerves.

“I just said it isn’t,” she retorted. “You’re more important than a promise made to me. If you want to forget about it we can just continue as things were before.”

He merely shook his head once more as the guard ignored them both walking past. It was amusing how little he was paid attention when his status was not taken into account. Even as she unlocked and ushered him into the tower, there was not even so much as a second glance to him. The nuns and priests in the cathedral were occupied discussing the rite or praying.

Just as she said many times before, during their planning, Byleth reminded him to be mindful of not to accidentally light a torch on the walls as he descended as their use would show that they had been there. She too let him know that she would be keeping watch until he made it to her body.

“How will you know when I’ve reached that far?” Dimitri asked considering she had not brought up a need for a lookout beyond when they needed to exit the tower until that moment.

“Shake my body and I’ll get the message,” Byleth said. Once he lit the torch he had struggled to pull out of his bag she relaxed.

She muttered a quiet encouragement as he left her vision and she walked back into the cathedral. Not a moment sooner, she hid behind a pillar so that neither Seteth nor any of the Eagles would spot her while the eldest one walked toward the Goddess tower with Flayn in tow. By now she had a good grasp on who was aware of her presence. Caspar was perhaps the most dangerous to be seen by since he ran the risk of calling out as soon as he spotted her.

She could hear Ferdinand sigh loudly as their footsteps echoed loudly to the right of where she hid. “I cannot say it is wise for us to guard a single spot in the monastery,” he lamented. “If there is even the slightest chance that the information is unreliable then—”

“Our house will have failed the mission and the monastery may look down on the Empire,” Edelgard and he said in tangent.

“I know,” she continued. “But quiet down. We want to cut them off while they are still unaware of our presence, not alert them.”

As their footsteps dissipated so did their voices. Byleth waited awhile until she was sure that they had all entered the Holy Mausoleum before sitting on the nearest pew. From there she could watch that entrance, the tower, and a majority of the cathedral. 

At some point she heard a commotion, vaguely picking up Cathrine’s voice giving orders to the knights of Seiros in the distance. A few minutes later, she spotted the archbishop in all her regalia walking into the church, a bundle in her arms that made Byleth’s eyes dart back to the tower directly in line with the path Rhea was making.

She quickly made her way to Dimitri and as she felt a warmth spread through her hand. It was no sooner replaced by an odd sensation in her shoulders that made her crack a smile as he signaled that he had reached her.

“Get behind the throne!” Byleth called as soon as she reached the green depths, not pausing in her run. Dimitri did as she said and waited for her to reach him before questioning the command.

“What happened?”

Byleth swallowed hard. “Rhea is on her way. As long as you say quiet there she shouldn’t look behind here but…”

“But?” He said peeking back to the entrance. It was still the two of them for the moment but he could see that the stairway had been lit as the entryway emitted an orange glow.

“But I never know how long she will stay down here,” Byleth admitted. He could only nod and try to make himself comfortable a s he tried to hide himself back behind the stone seat. She wandered around to ensure he wasn’t visible from as many angles as possible.

She could see that Dimitri had questions but his mouth quickly shut as Byleth held a finger to her mouth, her eyes locked on the archbishop who had entered the tomb. She let out a loud sigh of relief in the silence of the room. Her approach made Byleth and Dimitri tense with each passing minute.

“You won’t believe how worried I was when Cathrine said intruders had been spotted,” Rhea said in a tired voice. "My heart nearly wrenched itself out of my chest in worry."

Dimitri felt the hairs on his neck rise as he heard the rustle of clothing, afraid he had made a movement that would have alerted the woman of his presence. “Don't worry...” Byleth said causing his eyes to fly to her. His muscles felt tight even with her assurance. It was not hard to tell that Lady Rhea was not among those who could see Byleth as she was, though it did not offer much respite. “She is– Well, you'll see when she leaves."

He gave her a perplexed look. She could see it from the corner of her eye, though her eyes did not turn to him, instead remaining trained on the archbishop.

“Now,” Rhea said, her tone much softer but filled with sorrow. “Won’t you please open your eyes? I did the ritual as always…”

Dimitri wanted to ask why Byleth was scowling at what she saw behind him. He wanted to hug Byleth as he watched her shoulders shake in a way he had never seen before. He had seen her annoyed before, in her range of micro expressions. But the only times he had seen her show emotion so vividly was when she was happy, never had noticed her feel the need to curl her nails into her palms.

“Please, mother.” Her voice cracked as tears quietly spilled from her eyes. 

Dimitri turned with shock, stirring a loose pebble beside him. He froze and even Byleth held her breath as the tomb felt much quieter than it was before. The archbishop wiped her tears rapidly with her sleeves as she cradled the hands of Byleth’s body in hers. “Mother?” she asked. There was a hope in her voice that pained the prince hear. The three waited and the sadness in her voice returned as she mused about how it was too good to be true.

After some time, she finally left and Byleth could ensure that she was not returning Dimitri was finally able to let go of all the tension he held in his body with a loud exhale, falling limp against the stone floor.

Byleth made eye contact for the first time since Rhea had interrupted their plans. Even upside down, he found her stunning.

“I cannot imagine that the floor is comfortable, Dimitri.” Her voice was even but her hands were busy tensing and relaxing.

He tittered. “You’re quite right. But I understand it’s gotten quite late by now.”

Byleth nodded slowly as he stood and removed the robes to reveal his uniform. The from the bag at his side, he pulled out the torch — well what was left of the stump and dropped it. Then he let his blue cape fall as he pulled it aside to reach deeper.

Finally, Dimitri pulled out a dagger that had fallen to the bottom. He walked purposefully around but raised his brow while his cheeks dusted at the sight of her new ensemble. He looked everywhere he knew he should not have in a matter of seconds whilst trying to find a place where her skin wasn’t exposed. “This outfit…” He started with concern, knowing that this had been the noise he had heard. 

Shaking her head, to tell him it was not important at the moment, he nodded. “Right. Are you sure you want me to cut your hair?”

“I am. As we discussed, it would raise more questions if it remained this long,” she said. “I’m not partial to it either. Long hair is fine but this would be a pain to manage.” He couldn’t disagree with that as he lifted her body and put it on the ground. She appreciated that he ignored what had just transpired for the time being and that she could trust him to focus on the plan.

Unsheathing the blade, Dimitri hacked off the dark blue hair. “Forgive me," he said once he realized how uneven his work was, "I cannot say I’m one people usually look to for haircuts." He ran his thumb against the pink and white ribbons that were weaved through her hair. "These braided sections…” 

He looked to her with pause. “Would it be acceptable if I asked to kept a lock?” 

She blinked, confused for a moment. As she processed the meaning in the prince’s words, Byleth put the back of her hand to her mouth though it did little to hide her shy smile. “If it’s you, yes,” she said. His heart skipped a beat as he thanked her quietly, placing the first one in his bag gently. The other he let join the rest of her absurdly long locks that fanned out across the tiles.

Once done, he replaced the dagger in the bag and listened to her instructions on how to remove the ornamentations of the garb. He worked much slower and she couldn’t blame him with how careful he was to not touch her inappropriately, not that she cared if he were to touch her. Byleth felt a little bad to ask that he cut the skirt portion of it off with how flustered he looked but they both knew it had to be done. Thankfully for him, it only needed to be cut to the knees.

“I’m putting my jacket on you,” Dimitri finally said when the silence between them told him he had no more he needed to do. As he put in on and realized that he was unable to button it up all the way he stood and grabbed his cape from behind the throne. “My cape too,” He added meekly.

Besides making sure her body would not fall from his back, Dimitri had no issues carrying Byleth. He could ignore the two pressing issues on his back for the moment, slightly more embarrassed that his hands would be directly touching her rear if not for the thin tights and gloves.

They reached their exit but found the door unsurprisingly locked during a guard change. Rather than waiting for her to unlock it again, he made the decision to save time by breaking the lock with his foot. The sensation felt strange without his armored boots but it kept the damage to a minimum as the handle only looked slightly ajar rather than the whole door splintering.

“Where is everyone?” Dimitri finally asked as they crossed the bridge. The church had looked empty as they passed its doors and Byleth had been looking ahead to check for anyone but had yet to give him a warning.

One explanation could be that it was so late everyone had turned in but that didn’t explain how they failed to see a single soul. No priests, no nuns, but more importantly no knights.

Passing through the corridor, Dimitri could feel that he was growing tired. “This ended up being eventful in a different way than I had initially thought it would be. I feel quite at ease despite the situation,” he spoke with a lighthearted expression. “It is funny how calming your steps are right now, Byleth.”

“My steps don’t make noise,” Byleth said meeting him with a pale face. She looked at the directions they could go in before pointing to the classrooms. “There,” she hurried.

With the Eagle's room closest, Dimitri pushed it open as quickly as he could while moving her body to his shoulder and closed the door. He felt enough scares with what happened in the tomb but the voice behind him took the cake.

“What have we here?” Hubert asked. “The crown prince of Faerghus.”

Dimitri turned around to see Edelgard leaning over a table covered in papers lit by two lone candles. She looked between him to Byleth and the body in his arms before she opened her mouth to speak to him, the shock delaying her from addressing them.

“If you tell anyone that you saw us tonight then I’ll tell Rhea about the crest stones,” Byleth blurted before the other could get a word out.

“I…I see,” Edelgard said, straightening her back and narrowing her eyes. “Then this encounter never happened.”

Hubert fixed her with a pensive look, knowing he had missed a key piece of the conversation. But also had no time to speak as the Dimitri felt the door touch his back. The blond reacted quickly, moving to the stain glass window as the door shielded him from whomever had entered. Byleth did the same, retreating to the corner of the classroom.

A cheerful “Greetings!” was not what any of the four expected.

“Good evening,” Edelgard replied with a nod. “I would have thought you would be off duty at this hour.”

“Normally yes,” the gatekeeper replied, “but since the night watch is there. Every knight has been sent out to search, myself included.”

“And you expected to find a sword in a classroom?” Hubert said rhetorically.

He shook his head and apologized. “I heard that there was a suspicious person walking towards the dorms. With it past curfew, it is unexpected to see the two of you here though.”

“Lady Edelgard saw it fit to strategize given the recent folly of our peers.”

“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “We merely lost track of time. The two of us will be heading to our rooms now.” 

She shot Byleth a final glance before extinguishing the lights.  Dimitri and Byleth could hear the sound of paper moving and waited until the two left with the gatekeeper after he insisted he walk them to the dorms so they would not be stopped on their way. The two of them make it back to Dimitri’s room safely once they were sure the coast was clear.

He carefully took his jacket off of Byleth and rested her body on his bed. Placing it on his desk, Dimitri sat and looked to where she stood before him. “I suppose it was too easy for you to wake only from moving you,” he said leaning against his palm. “Now what…?” He pondered the question as he grabbed his notebook and flipped through his copious notes.

While he did so, Byleth looked over his shoulder attempting to make sense of his shorthand during the times he paused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've now gotten to the point where there are 3 more chapters written for me to edit and post (ㅎᴗ< )
> 
> [As I side note, I post dimileth content on my twitter like this bad joke](https://twitter.com/libra__bun/status/1222811750401073152?s=20)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter!


	9. Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot has happened in these two months since the last update. A few days after I posted chapter 8, my computer blue screened. I used an old PC that wasn't connected to the internet to draw on but since all my writing is done in G Docs I'd been writing on my phone until I was able to buy myself a new one at the end of February. After that, I had some job interviews (and scored a job ☆⌒(*＾▽゜)v yay!!)
> 
> No chapter warnings this round.

Dimitri woke up without a crick in his neck despite the fact that the first thing his groggy eyes found were papers spread out on his desk. He found his pillow folded under his head along with the jacket he’d hung on his shoulders. Knowing they’d been placed by Byleth, he smiled before moving to change into fresh clothes.

He peered over at the body in his room occasionally. It stunned him to see her lay there in the brief moment between first seeing her that morning and recalling the events of the night before.

He almost felt guilty leaving her there alone once more but, Dedue and he visited the greenhouse as if it were any other day before class. The walk after though, the prince could tell the air at the academy had changed. 

Many of the students and knights looked as tense as he felt. 

It was clear the the Black Eagles mission had failed from how depressed they looked. Even the Golden Deer were not as rowdy. Hilda and Claude stood chatting but it was clear that they were seizing up the damage from the way they looked over the others, their small talk doing well to hide whatever it was they were looking for. Edelgard stood tall as she spoke with Dorothea who was apologizing for something that had happened while Hubert had an unreadable expression rather than an ominous smile.

In other words, whatever Edelgard had planned must have succeeded.

“When I find the Death Knight I think I’ll give him a good beating for that dirty trick!” The loud voice of Caspar made Dimitri pause and turn to see Linhardt shake his head. The shorter one huffed, crossing his arms and Dimitri ignored the commotion.

His own peers did not have much higher spirits as he rounded the open doorway. Annette greeted him as warmly as she could but she couldn’t stop her frown from returning. Much the same, Ingrid and Ashe were caught up in the gloom.

“Your Highness,” Sylvain said patting the seat by himself and Mercedes. Dimitri came over with a raised brow. He was never this early under normal circumstances. “Do you know what’ll happen to them? The Black Eagles that is.” His tone was softer than Dimitri had heard it be in perhaps years.

“Does it matter?” Felix asked. “They failed to stop the attack. They should just be thankful no one died.”

He was right. Perhaps that was part of her design though. Edelgard wanted something from that mission but, at the very least, she did not risk her classmate’s safety to obtain it. Although it did not justify her actions, Dimitri could understand somewhat.

“...I’m afraid I do not know. As your leader, it is inexcusable for me to not know,” he replied. 

The archbishop was not known for being wrathful nor was she known for her benevolence. The Black Eagles would be used to set an example for the others, just as Lanato and the Western church had been.

As more raised voices of the Eagles could be heard from the courtyard, Dedue closed the doors so the Lions were left to wait for Jeritza in silence. When he came he instructed Dimitri have an audience with Lady Rhea. She was the person Dimitri least wanted to see at the moment yet also the one he had the most questions for.

He was not alone in going to the archbishop however. Opening the door, not only did he find her and Seteth, Edelgard now stood before the holy woman.

Unlike the way she spoke in the tomb, Lady Rhea looked down on the house leader with an anger just shy of outrage. “Foolish girl. Saint Seiros’ bones may not have been in that casket but that sword was just as valuable,” she sneered. She paused in the monologue that the prince had walked into and took a breath to calm down when she saw Seteth motion to her that Dimitri was now present as well. “The Sword of the Creator is a valuable relic that Saint Seiros herself fought with,” she finally said.

“If I may,” Edelgard said carefully, raising her head from the scolding, “I noticed during the fight that the sword lacked a crest stone. The Black Eagles would be more than grateful to have the opportunity to redeem ourselves by protecting it and any others that may accompany it. This time they will listen to my every—”

“Silence!” Rhea demanded, her voice booming. She glowered at the Adrestian princess no longer attempting to mask her fury. “After that failure, you will do _nothing_ more than catch ruffians much less ever _think _about going near her! The crest stones are sacred and not to be treated as toys to redeem your house.”

Edelgard nodded but remained silent. From his angle along with the fall of her hair, Dimitri could not read what expression she wore be it frustration or neutrality.

Clearing his throat to draw, Seteth gestured for her to leave. “For now, your funding will be cut. Any potential punishment shall be determined once all the damages have been assessed.” He was far more composed than Lady Rhea but he too looked bothered by the turn of things. “Now Dimitri.”

“Yes,” he said coming forward. 

Edelgard brushed against his shoulder wordlessly as she left. Saying nothing, they locked eyes but understood that their agreement stood.

“There have been thieves causing problems in the Kingdom. We have already informed your professor and felt your house ought to be the ones to deal with the issue as they have stolen a hero's relic,” he informed.

“A stolen relic from the Kingdom?” Dimitri frowned.

“Indeed. House Gautier’s Lance of Ruin was taken by Miklan who appears to be leading the group.” Seteth gave details on Miklan's group noting that they had made their base in Fraldarius territory. It was understandable that they would be the ones to handle it given the information.

Dimitri nodded in acceptance. “Very well. I will inform the others and we will leave as soon as preparations are finished.”

“Please do, but do not rush. We would not like for a mistake to result in them keeping the lance,” Seteth said sternly. A warning to not have two missions fail in such a short period. “When you leave, we will do our best to spare as many skilled knights for you as possible. We cannot guarantee many due to the–” He cast an uneasy look to Rhea. “–ongoing search from what happened yesterday.”

Ah. That was why no knights were stationed, Dimitri realized.

While Dimitri turned to leave, a hand wrapped around his wrist. His blood felt cold as the archbishop had not only stopped him but that he found her eyeing the medal at his side.

“Where did you get that?” she asked, her tone teetering on accusation.

Freeing his hand, Dimitri thumbed the arch of the gold gently. Her eyes took in his every move with scrutiny but relaxed ever so slightly when he unclipped it and raised it for her to look at. “From someone important to me,” he said. There was no hint of the nerves he felt at the possibility of her remembering who the memento belonged to in his words.

She tried to take it but he held it firmer. Although he feared that his fingers would leave a lasting dent, he could not risk her seeing the inscription on the back. Even if she had not known it was from Jeralt, if it was once apart of Byleth's possessions, she surely would have seen the writing once. It would not be hard to connect the dots.

Grabbing a prince’s arm, even for a woman of high standing such as herself was not something that should have been done. It was even less acceptable for her to forcibly take something from him. She understood that and quickly released him, only looking at it from the angle he was willing to show. “My,” she said curiously. “Do you know who turned this into an amulet?”

“I do not see how that is important,” Dimitri replied, replacing it securely by his sword.

The archbishop sighed. “I would like to meet that person if you would not mind doing me the favor.”

“Lady Rhea, this is not something the church should consider as a favor,” Seteth chided.

“Hear me out, Seteth. I know that it takes an extraordinary amount of skill to enchant objects. It has been a very long time since I’ve seen a level of faith magic on par with the blessings of Sothis herself.” The advisor appeared taken aback by her words. Dimitri raised a brow. Her voice quieted, perhaps for the first time since the prince had entered the room. “Please, think of this as a request from me, as a person, not the archbishop if you must Prince Dimitri.” It sounded the way she had pleaded to her “mother.”

Dimitri did not respond. 

Even if he owed a thousand debts to the Church of Seiros, he would not want to give up Byleth’s name to a woman that caused her to have such a fearful emotion. He knew better than that. A favor from the archbishop was valuable even without the church's explicit help but Byleth meant so much more to him.

Instead, he thanked her for their mission and informed his class. None were pleased by it. The death of Lord Lanato and all who were connected with his plot was still a lingering weight on their minds. Studying was momentarily set aside so they could depart and return as soon as they could. Once that was done, Jeritza returned to his lecture on the proper uses of ballistas and orbs.

During the lesson, Dimitri couldn’t help but feel as though his professor was watching him more than usual. There were a few reasons he could guess. His usual dismissive attitude to anything other than fighting returning with Hubert’s appearance outside their classroom more or less told him it had to do with Edelgard.

“Lady Edelgard requests a moment of your time,” the retainer said as he exited.

Dedue stepped between them to put a distance between his lord and who he deemed to be a potential threat. “If the request is not important enough for her to come to his Highness herself, you should arrange a meeting through me.” He was calm and his words were not wrong. Normally that was the case – retainers reaching out to another retainer on behalf of their lords – but nothing happening at the academy seemed to be working out normally as of late.

“Where is Edelgard now?” Dimitri asked.

He could have sworn Hubert glared at him for a second. He smiled with a clear strain. “I would much rather you tell me an appropriate time. Preferably one the hours before someone simple-minded gets the wrong idea.”

Was it too much to ask the nobles spoke directly with each other? Must every conversation be a dance around whatever it was they wanted? It didn’t particularly matter when they spoke.

“His Highness asked where she is now,” Dedue said.

Hubert walked to move around Dedue. The taller of the two began moving to stop him from speaking directly to Dimitri again. The aforementioned blond, however, put a hand on him and let Hubert whisper in his ear. 

Dimitri stood straight and cleared his throat as Hubert pulled on his own jacket before making an about-face. Dedue looked at Dimitri expectantly and the prince looked away.

“Apologies, my friend. I need to see her by myself,” was all he offered before leaving.

His classmates found him again in the dining hall. Felix bumped into him on his way out, an arm full of bread and a plate of meat. He offered a snide remark for Dimitri to keep his comments to himself that made him wonder if he had made an odd face.

“He’s in a mood because his dad is here,” Sylvian said from nearby. He waved so Dimitri could spot him more easily. Unfortunately, the seats around him were already taken by a plethora of girls.

As he found an empty seat, the student in front of him noticeably recoiled. He smiled and apologized for startling him but no amount of encouragement seemed to console the boy as he badly lied about being full. Ingrid slid her plate from the neighboring table to take the scrambling student’s place and smiled. 

“This seat taken?” She joked.

“What about this one?” Asked a deep voice to his side. It was none other than Felix’s father, Rodrigue. He sat as the prince greeted him warmly.

“When did you arrive?” he asked. Looking at the empty space in front of the man, he tilted his head. “Are you not going to eat?”

“I ate before you came here and was chatting up some of the knights until I heard Sylvain calling out to you.” He gave a wry smile. “I would have spoken to you more privately earlier but you looked as though you were not in the mood for conversation when I saw you leaving Lady Rhea’s audience chambers.”

Dimitri shook his head as he swallowed another tasteless bite. “Nonsense, I would never mind you approaching me. I think I only wore that expression because I had just ruined something precious,” the blond explained. 

“Oh? I didn’t think there was anything breakable when I was last in that room. It has been a while and they might have finally thought about redecorating since,” he hummed thoughtfully.

Defensively putting his hands up, Dimitri shook his head again. “Dispel the thought, it was my own belonging. It was not completely broken but I am afraid I bent it out of shape.” To show the damage, he placed the memento on the table earning a laugh from Ingrid and a look of confusion from Rodrigue.

“Your highness, it’s barely noticeable,” she said wiping sauce from her lips. 

After making sure her hands were clean, she picked it up. Sure enough, the pointed tip now curved in the distinct shape of a thumb but it was nothing that could not be fixed. She flipped it to look at the back as she felt it was uneven from his fingers but refrained from commenting, already able to summarize why it was important from the engraving.

She handed it back carefully. “Like I said: barely noticeable. You can get that fixed before we leave. Blacksmiths at the market here work with accessories as well as weapons. You just have to ask,” Ingrid explained, mentioning that Hilda had taken her to the market to see what might suit her with a smile.

The meal was as good as it could be with Rodrigue spending most of it asking them about how they were finding their classes among other topics.  “It was odd how that youth was so eager to leave,” Rodrigue commented once he had the chance to walk with Dimitri to the gardens where it was quieter. Ingrid, excused herself to speak with someone she had seen before turning in for the night.

Dimitri looked to the green hedges downcast. “I suppose you did not hear that I broke a table there last moon…” He sighed remembering how worried Jeralt looked. He frowned remembering the mocking only he could hear.

“That sounds like you,” Rodrigue said fondly. “I remember how many chairs you broke on accident as a child. Things like that happen with your crest. Even your father broke plenty of things around here when we were students.”

“Did he?” Dimitri asked. He couldn’t imagine his father breaking things so often as he did.

Pinching his brow, the dark haired man nodded. “Lances, tables, doorknobs, you name it and Lambert probably broke it. Once when he was excited, he ripped my door clean off its hinges. I can’t remember what it was he wanted to tell me but I do remember it took a week to fix.”

Dimitri let out a forced laugh. Sure it was because of his crest. But that only meant that he was not suitable for much more than battle. Rodrigue reminisced of the past aloud until they heard the chimes of the bells announcing how late it had become and left to attend to other things while people were still awake at Garreg Mach.

Entering his room, he was reminded that it would take getting used to seeking Byleth. Her eyes were closed, her body tucked securely into bed. She looked much more comfortable like that than in the stone chair beneath the ground. Her hair was much more presentable too.

Earlier, Edelgard had been outside of his room just as her retainer had said she would be. She entered his room as soon as he had unlocked it. Unsurprisingly, she was shocked to find a body in his bed but as Byleth was already in his room reading she had no trouble explaining that this was a temporary setup until she woke up. Edelgard accepted the explanation of her body's disconnect easily enough though not pleased.

Dimitri made it known that he planned on sleeping on the floor until this was solved but the other house leader still seemed upset by it all. She left the room and came back after a few minutes with a bundle of clothes and scissors before requesting he leave to pace until she had opened his room once more.

There he was presented with her new haircut that was actually even. But as the two of them were both different busts and hip sizes, none of the articles brought by Edelgard fit. Thus, she resorted to putting his own loungewear. He could not find it in himself to complain. Dimitri didn’t wear it often but it stirred a blush from him to see it on Byleth.

Satisfied by Byleth being significantly more clothed, they moved on to why she had actually called Dimitri there. To know how much they knew of her plans. 

As valuable information goes, the two made it clear that they would not be telling her any more until she could guarantee that no one would find out about Byleth. Edelgard was none too pleased at first. It was a small obstacle as she found it easier to keep their original agreement of no tattling to Rhea. Their discussion was short. Byleth only offered a short version of her visit to Edelgard's room. Edelgard asked how much Dimitri knew and he freely confronted her about his professor's alliance. The results were as expected.

Presently reaching to brush a hair off of Byleth’s cheek, Dimitri sat on the edge of his bed. There was plenty of room but he felt more at ease keeping his distance. 

“You look troubled,” Byleth said. He lifted his head to find her sitting on the other side of him. 

Rather than feel surprised at her sudden appearance he felt his shoulders relax. She put a hand on either side of her lap, hooking her ankles on the underside of the bed as she made herself at home. Foreseeably, the bed did not bow under her weight of her intangible form. 

He closed his eyes and folded his own hands in his lap. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t,” Dimitri confessed. “The Kingdom is falling apart. Faerghus is… it is a husk of what it once was and I am powerless to stop any of the thievery or corruption merely because I am not old enough to take the throne.” I can’t even wake you, he thought, tightening his hands.

“Dimitri,” she said softly. Her head rested on his arm in a small comfort. “You don’t have to bear every burden all by yourself.” She touched his chin, the icy touch making him open his eyes to look at her sadly as she took it back. He wanted to take her hand in his but at the moment he knew he might crumble if it slipped through his hold. 

“I’m here,” she reminded. “I’ll be here when you need to talk. And when you go on your mission, I’ll be here waiting for you to return.” Weakly smiling at her, Byleth continued, moving to hold his face in her hands. “I can’t talk to most of your friends but I know that they want the best for you too. All you have to do is ask and we will follow you as far as we can.”

“How far would you go with me?” Dimitri asked. He knew it was pointless to ask. She couldn’t go anywhere but he couldn’t help but ask despite himself.

Leaning forward and closing her eyes, Dimitri allowed their foreheads to touch as she smiled brightly. “To the end of time,” she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since all I have left is formatting fixing for the next two chapters, I'll be posting a new chapter tomorrow or the next day!


	10. Loose Ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this may be the first time I've updated something the very next day...! ('▽'*)♪ The pacing might be a bit odd in this chapter but I didn't want to spend a lot of time on their mission with Miklan since it's not too different from the game.
> 
> The chapter warnings for this are a bit of strong language and violence.

Sylvain leaned against a pillar languidly as Ashe and Felix packed bags of rations on the floor of the Blue Lions room. Annette read off a similar list as she sat near Dedue and Mercedes who packed weapons by candlelight.

“The horses are all saddled and ready to go,” Ingrid called as she walked through the open door. She looked at the items strewn across the ground and stretched before sinking to her knees between the two groups. “Alright, how can I help speed this up?”

Felix pulled the bag of dried meat nearest to her away and tossed it to Dedue effortlessly. “Make yourself useful and find the boar and our professor. Even if it takes us till the sun comes up to finish this, we can’t set off without them,” Felix grumbled his words out more tired than anything else.

“C’mon,” Sylvain said, “there is still another hour until dawn. Unless you plan on taking a nap we’ll finish packing the individual supplies in another ten–twenty minutes.” 

“Where is his highness?” Annette asked, looking up from her paper when she realized she couldn’t hear his voice. She yawned and it set off a chain reaction that didn’t even spare Dedue.

Felix threw another bag of meat into a satchel and tossed it to Ashe who gently rearranged the contents and added dried fruits to it before stacking it to the side where Mercedes could grab it.

“Maybe he wants to ask the goddess for protection before we leave?” Mercedes offered after thanking Ashe. “I prayed before bed.”

Felix tossed the last bag to Ashe with a scoff. “The goddess? As if.”

“I was tending to last minute business,” Dimitri said. He walked in the room bright eyed, without a hint of tiredness in his features. “Professor Jeritza told me he was unwell and that we should set off as soon as we’re ready too; Professor Manuela ordered he rest despite the mission. The knight of Seiros accompanying us will meet us at the gate.”

Shaking his head, Sylvain looked at Annette. “‘Gilbert,’ right?” It was posed as a statement rather than a question. Dimitri affirmed it anyways.

“The church might as well just kill us before we leave,” Felix said standing. He moved to grab the packs that were finished. “One knight… Only four of us are familiar with the territory. They could have at least given us a group to make up for the professor not being able to join the mission.”

“I share your frustrations but he is all that could be spared with—”

“With the Black Eagles’ screw up I know,” Felix cut off. “That’s all anyone talks about. But it’s pointless to waste resources on a relic that doesn’t even function without a fucking crest stone!”

None of them bothered to stop the swordsman as he left in the direction of the stables. He needed to cool off and no one particularly wished to use their energy with a long journey ahead of them. 

Resolved to pack in silence, they eventually left one by once they had no more to do but grab changes of clothes for the trip. They met at the gate as the first ray of sun peeked out beyond the horizon. 

The first day of travel was uneventful. Too tired from their early start, they turned in early only waking for watch shifts.

The second day they made it into house Charon’s territory. The land was not terrible to traverse and the few villages they passed through were well off enough that they could afford to stop at a family owned inn on one of the nights.

As they transitioned it into Galatea territory, Ingrid was reasonably distraught by the drop in quality of life. Many of the crop fields were withered if not bare. They all knew this was a problem in Faerghus but it hurt them to pass by and not be able to do anything about it.

When they stopped to rest in the woods, they split into groups to prepare, knowing that it would be dark before the horses had enough time to rest. Dedue and Ashe scavenged for food in the forest to make a decent meal that the former prepared while the rest set up tents. Annette made attempts to sit with her father before he made the excuse that he needed to take some time to pray alone before he could eat. 

Thus, the Blue Lions were left gathered around the cooking fire. Other nights they merely ate some of their rations before sleeping and moving on the next morning. This evening could be considered a night to “relax” in their travels if the mood was not so sour.

Some of their eyes shifted around anxiously, namely Ashe, waiting to see who would talk first. No one knew what to bring up that might distract their favorite mage from her struggles to reconnect with her family nor what to perk up Ingrid from the situation she could not change in her territory.

Finally noticing something that might be of interest, Felix elbowed Sylvain. Gesturing with his chin, the redhead followed the cue to Dimitri who had resorted to running his fingers through the pink tassel in his hands as a means of eluding boredom while he stared absentmindedly at the embers of the fire.

“Whatcha got there your Highness,” Sylvain asked in a singsong voice.

Ingrid sighed, knowing that in combination with the growing smile on her friend's face, he was preparing to tease the information out of Dimitri. 

“There is no need to get so excited Sylvain,” she said. “It’s a gift from Byleth.” Despite casually saying it like it was common knowledge, she neglected to remember that Dimitri had only been telling them things when asked. 

With how readily everyone informed each other of new events in their lives, she sort of forgot that their prince was far more reserved when it came to talking about himself.

“Really?” Mercedes said leaning forward with a twinkle in her eyes. 

Already knowing that they would soon be clamoring to see it, Dimitri passed it to Ashe, forcing Sylvain to be one of the last to see the medal as it traveled in their circle on the ground.

Annette tried to remember when she first saw him wearing it as she tapped her lips. At this point, it had become normal to see it by his side. “I didn’t think that she’s where it would have come from.”

“Yeah, it is a bit flashy for his usual tastes,” Sylvain grinned as both blonds side eyed him. “But that means a step up in the relationship right? Tell me I’m right.” He stretched out on his side, propping his head up to watch this conversation's target.

Dimitri sunk his head, glad that the glow of the fire would help to keep them from seeing his flushed cheeks. “You all love to pry into private affairs,” he said after a moment's reflection.

“I believe it is your affairs in particular,” Dedue said stirring the pot.

“Even Dedue wants to know your Highness! For the goddess’ sake, Felix hasn’t even left when romance has come up,” Sylvain said, only to be kicked by Felix who protested by saying he was only waiting for the food. “Your Highness I might  _ die  _ if I don’t hear how far human-ghost relations can go.” After being kicked again, Sylvain resorted to batting his eyelashes with a sad attempt at an innocent smile.

Seeing that the whole circle had shifted into more of a crescent around him, Dimitri relented. “Fine, Sylvain is right.” On cue from the defeat in the prince’s voice, Sylvain sat back up and cheered his small victory. “But I only recently told her that I had feelings for her.”

Letting out a small squee, Annette had to apologize for startling Dedue who nearly dropped the bowl he had just filled. “She said yes right, right? Oh my goddess, this is the best news!” Mercedes smiled at the excitement, leaning forward as she was handed the first serving. 

“How did it happen?” Ashe asked. “I heard there are spots that are frequented for confessions like the gardens but uh…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Only because I accidentally interrupted a number on them by accident.” Dimitri ate while Sylvain took the liberty to let Ashe know that it was never a big deal.

Attention returning to him, Dimitri coughed and wished that they could have forgotten and just let the conversation drift to the monastery or Sylvain for that matter. Things were never that easy with the Blue Lions though.

“I asked her if it would be alright to keep a lock of her hair,” Dimitri said unconsciously moving his hand to hold the bag in his lap. He smiled fondly, remembering their last conversation.

Byleth had approached him after he had left Jeritza to rest. She kept things short. Wishing him a safe trip, she left him dumbstruck as she planted a kiss on his cheek. He wished it could have lasted longer but at least the feeling lingered for hours after.

His friends, however, did not find his way of confessing particularly romantic if their faces told him anything. 

They looked between each other as if they had missed something and hoped someone had picked up the lost link. The conversation dulled quickly making it so that the only noise Dimitri could hear was the crackling fire and his pounding heart, wondering what had been so wrong with what he said to cause such confusion.

Raising a finger to draw their attention, Annette spoke. “Is this… a good time to bring up what Ingrid asked us not to?” she asked tentatively. 

Mercedes laughed nervously. “I’m sure Byleth told Dimitri that that was something impossible but that she returned his feelings,” she said with doubt permeating her words. Dimitri tilted his head, failing to see where the conversation went off track.

Ever observant, Sylvain looked at the bag in the prince’s lap and narrowed his eyes. “What’s in the bag your Highness?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. His mouth set in a tight line.

Their stares, already having shifted from confusion to silent horror, watched at Dimitri clutched the bag to his chest tighter. “It’s nothing you need to be concerned with: just clothes,” he reassured.

“With all due respect,” Ashe said gulping, “I thought you had packed your clothes with your rations.” 

He nodded. Both statements were true. There were clothes in the bag. Specifically, the stolen robes of a priest and what ribbons were left on his desk after Edelgard changed Byleth’s body. This was the same bag he had gone to the tomb with.

He had tried discarding it multiple times. 

Each time they rested somewhere, someone would remind him to grab it. At the inn, he conveniently left it in the stables only to have it returned to him by a worker who thought he had forgotten it. When they camped, by the time it was his turn to have night watch he had been too tired to remember to burn them or they had been on double shifts.

“What is in the bag?” Felix reiterated. He moved closer but Sylvain stopped him from reaching out to take it.

“Clothes,” Dimitri said firmly.

“Just clothes?” Annette asked skeptically, leaning away.

Huffing, Dimitri flipped it open. Ashe closed his eyes, saying he couldn’t look while the redhead to Dimitri’s other side breathed his own sigh of relief. Dedue even made a comforting noise as his shoulders relaxed. 

“What did you all think was in here?” Dimitri asked. He decided that there was no point in trying to discreetly dispose of the articles as he stood. 

It didn’t take long for Dedue to help him move the nearly empty pot from over the flames. 

“I don’t know. A head? Maybe a hand,” Sylvain shrugged. “I never took you for that kind of person but that’s where I thought things might have been going from the flow.” Ingrid nodded with a much more formal apology, her face still pale.

He pulled the crumpled headdress out first and dropped it above the flames. Preceding to grab the robe and toss it in, Mercedes stood, intercepting him. “You shouldn’t– Why are you burning holy robes?” She asked gripping the fabric as she tried to see what might have been wrong with it. It looked unblemished — nothing more than the usual wear and tear.

Eyes wide as it finally hit him where their conversation dropped, Dimitri let go of the fabric. “Oh,” was all he could manage to say as silence enveloped them. Only Edelgard and Hubert knew he had Byleth in his room. That she was alive.

“‘Oh.’ That’s all you have to say?” Felix said standing up so that he could go through the bag himself. Dimitri made no move to stop him as he threw the rest of the clothes on the ground one by one while he spoke. “You made us think you might have dug Byleth’s body up with that hair comment.” 

Ashe picked up a piece of the blue and looked at the clerical robe in their healer’s hands. “Is there a reason you can’t take these back with us?” he asked.

“I trust none of you will tell anyone?” Dimitri asked as they all nodded slowly. “Great then–” He took the robes from Mercedes and tossed it into the fire. “–before you get the wrong idea again, Byleth is not dead. This is what I wore when I was recovering her body.” Mercedes discreetly wiped her hands off.

They did not take the news well, nor did he expect them. As their prince he should have been setting an example for them, not robbing a tomb — although he left that bit out. Felix and Ingrid were the most outwardly upset by his actions. Dedue was the least but his expression said he was disappointed. It was difficult to tell if they were upset by the information or that he withheld it. Nevertheless, Ashe, Annette, and Mercedes could not even look at him. 

That was more along the lines of what he expected but it still stung.

As Gilbert came back, wondering what the commotion was about, they all shut their mouths. The man watched as they all quickly left to go to their tents. Dedue offered what was left of their dinner to Gilbert before helping Dimitri stoke the fire and that was that.

No one brought up the revelation from then on. 

They barely had the chance with Gilbert in their company. And by the time they had finished their mission, between their severe injuries and witnessing Miklan turn into a demonic beast, no one felt the need to be talkative. Mercedes did her best to heal them all in battle but she could only do so much that many of them had to wait until the end when they could take the time to tend to their wounds.

Sylvain, who had lost his mount in the battle, rode with her so that she could sleep off her exhaustion from nearly overusing her magic. Combined with Ingrid’s pegasus’ sustained injuries, they had to slow down considerably more as they set off in their return to Garreg Mach.

As soon as Mercedes was well enough to take care of it, they made good pace. Leaving Fraldarius territory and entering Galatea territory, they crossed paths with a unit of knights. Their conversation was short. The knights were still on the lookout for the Sword of the Creator and the Blue Lions’ only run in had been with the Lance of Ruin strapped to Sylvain’s back. 

The knights' presence seemed to deter any bandits from attacking them in their sorry state. Half their bodies were covered in bandages and they ached from their cuts and bruises. The relic was probably in the best shape of their group if they were being honest.

Once the mountains surrounding the monastery and its high points could be seen in the distance, their spirits raised. Dimitri took the lead and the rest followed suit.

“Oh Sothis, I’m going to pass out as soon as I hit my mattress,” Sylvain said. Annette chastised him for using the goddess’ name but he only laughed and said she would probably be willing to overlook his misdeed. “What are you guys going to do?” he asked curiously.

Humming, Mercedes smiled at the quick approaching range. “I suppose I will check on our professor. He was probably lonely without us.”

“I’ll take your bags to your room,” Annette chimed in. “Then I’ll tidy up my room and go to the garden!” Dedue nodded commenting that he would need to check on their plants as soon as possible with how long they had been gone. Annette made it an unofficial “date” and Felix scoffed.

“Anyone is welcome to join me in the cafeteria if they want because it’s an hour past lunch and I plan on heading there to get a taste of something besides dried meat and cheese.” Ingrid's words struck a chord as they all realized how sick they were of rations. Ashe and Felix promptly took up her offer while Sylvain made an amendment to enter a food coma as soon as he reached his bed.

None of them had the time to realize the plans they made as the front gates came into view. There were more guards posted than when they had left, still fewer than before the search for the stolen hero’s relic had begun, but noticeably more. “Something is wrong,” Dimitri said matter of factly.

“Your Highness?” Ashe said tilting his head.

“She said she would be there.”

Gilbert rode closer, bowing his head slightly before speaking. “Might I ask: to whom are you referring?” Dimitri pushed ahead of the group faster without response.

The rest knew that the likeliness of it being a soul other than Byleth was slim. Felix strained his eyes, scanning the vantage points that guards could watch from but all he found were more helmets. Not a blue hair in sight. “The guards look stiff,” he commented.

Looking to the sky as a habit, Ingrid had her own input. “His Highness is right. The wyvern and pegasi aren’t flying today,” she said. 

It was not out of the ordinary to keep them in the stables on rainy days but it was a clear day. There would have been puddles on the ground if there had been a light shower, however, the ground was dry.

Dimitri had been stopped at the gate, at the end of informing the guard of their mission status as they finally rejoined their house leader.

Not a moment after the lattice was raised and they were allowed entry, were they stopped again by the sound of someone yelling. It was too far to understand the words but Dedue pointed out that the man's voice came from the open doors of the main hall.

Sure enough, Seteth came running out to greet them. Another unusual sight. He was out of breath and had to take pause, using his knees for support. 

“...Flayn,” he managed to get out between pants, “Where is she...?” 

“Surely you know we only returned now?” Dimitri asked, knitting his brows.

“Damnit,” they could hear him exclaim before mumbling more under his breath.

As Sylvain dismounted and held his hand out to Mercedes, Seteth surveyed their class. Likewise, Ashe, Annette, and Gilbert touched the ground, grateful to walk again. The rest thought twice about that in the limited space they had between the monastery and its small market.

“I doubt any Blue Lions know where your sister is,” Dimitri said apologetically. “I do hope you will find her soon.” 

“How long has she been missing?” their archer asked.

“Since you set off on your mission,” he said shakily. “Rh– The archbishop said she may have joined you but it appears my fear for the worse was brought to fruition… Then there’s Manuela’s disappearance and the theft.” He rattled on, closing his eyes tightly until they snapped open with a realization. “How could I forget?” Looking up to them he sighed. “An important thing was stolen so it was made a part of the search. As such, Lady Rhea ordered a search of the dorms.”

“When will that be?” the prince gulped.

“The search has already been conducted. You and Sylvain will need to have a word with me,” he said, firmness taking hold.

That was not something the prince had considered and he was kicking himself as he nodded and pulled at the reins, urging his horse to move slowly. There was no anger in what the advisor said meaning he could at least talk his way out, no?

“If we know what went missing we might be able to help look,” Annette offered.

“I am afraid that is… confidential,” he said as though he were contemplating the information rather than informing them of it. Seteth then looked back over their group as they passed towards the stables with narrowed eyes. “Did professor Jeritza fall in battle?”

The question made them all stop in their tracks. 

“Of course not,” Mercedes was quick to say, “He was under orders not to go on the mission with us because of how sick he was.”

His eyes widened. “He didn’t— When did Jeritza fall ill?” Seteth’s tone shifted from disbelief in an instant. Dimitri felt a cold sweat run down his back.

“Right before our mission,” Sylvain responded. “He said that Manuela had ordered it.”

All too soon, yet not soon enough, Dimitri practically leaped off the back of his steed. Grace be damned, he made haste to the dorms. Each step and he could hear the fear in his chest resounding louder in his ears until the ringing was able to drown out all sounds and voices around him.

He took in the room with wide eyes. His bed was a mess with the sheets pulled half on the floor and pillow by his desk. The chair was on its side while books and weapons scattered around it on the floor. But most importantly, Byleth’s body was gone.

Leaving the door ajar, Dimitri walked only to try and piece together what may have happened in their absence. As he passed Hubert on the stairs, he vaguely registered that the older one was addressing him. It was like there was a blur to what he was saying, but he knew it was far from kind as he could make out the distinct mocking tone as he lifted his face and saw Hubert’s narrowed eyes.

“... expected you to be sad that you no longer had a corpse in your room,” Hubert grinned, “My, my if looks could kill.” He chuckled as Dimitri pushed him aside.

It took all he had to control the dread building in the pit of his stomach but it was not enough to prevent his thoughts from considering a scenario where her body was disposed of.

As soon as he had spotted Edelgard, turning to him as she heard the sound of his metal boots approaching, he felt the well of emotions spill over. Dimitri gave her no time to react. His hand was at her throat as he shoved her against a pillar. Someone screamed as part of the stone crumbled when his knuckles made contact.

“Where is she?” he growled, low and dark. Despite the demand, Edelgard could not answer, clawing at his hand just so that she could breathe.

When he let go, she dropped to her knees. Coughing repeatedly, she clutched where Dimitri had held onto until he grew impatient, completely uncaring to the commotion he had caused.

Leaning down, close enough that she could feel his every breath, Dimitri held her chin so that she could not escape. “Where. Is. She?” he repeated. His eyes were cold enough that her limbs felt frozen.

“I don’t know,” she wheezed as his hand wound around her windpipe once more. It wasn’t enough to stop her airflow but at the push of his thumb, she knew her life would be over.

His eyes drilled into her. “What do you mean you ‘don’t know?’” Dimitri said. He could feel her throat as she swallowed.

“Hubert moved her body and we intended to put it back... but her body was gone when the time came.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! From this point on, things will start deviating from the main story events. I'll still be including some of the major events.
> 
> I'm not sure when exactly I'll be posting chapter 11 since I want to tweak it a bit more while I finish my notes for some of the chapters I have yet to write. Hopefully, I'll have it up within the next week and a half though! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)


	11. Results of desperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started my new job on April 6th and stopped doing much of anything outside of work for a few weeks. I had to take some time to adjust my schedule to working full time (┬┬﹏┬┬)
> 
> As far as warnings go, Dimitri is not in a great mental state like all of this chapter.

shed"Good morning," Sylvain said before yawning. "Now I was told to get a knight or Seteth when you got up  _ but _ I’m more curious to find out what happened from you, not some gossip chain."

Dimitri sat up slowly. His head ached. When he rubbed his eyes and neck that seemed to do the trick for easing some of the stiffness in his body as well as alleviate some of the darkness.

"Don't get me wrong, I'll still listen to anything a lovely lady wants to whisper in my ear. I find it's more entertaining to know the truth while you listen to the lies," Sylvain rambled on until he heard a loud series of cracks as he watched the crown prince move his head. "The captain really got you good, huh, your Highness?"

Hissing at the newfound pain his cracking bones provided him, Dimitri finally looked his friend's way. More surprising than realizing he was in an office, was the black eye and additional bandages on the redhead.

"What happened to you?" Dimitri asked, coming to look at his face.

"It looks worse than it is." He shrugged. "I'll spare you all the details since I'm sure Seteth will probably fill you in." 

The apathy in his voice made Dimitri frown. The last thing he remembered was Edelgard's face. "Surely, I wasn't out that long? What does that have to do with Jeralt?"

"Fine, fine, no need to rush me with so many questions," Sylvain said. "You've been out for maybe an hour? Probably less. There was lots of screaming going on in the courtyard but by the time I got over there it seemed that Captain Jeralt had already knocked you out."

That seemed… reasonable. Given his attitude towards the princess especially.

"Even so, should you or rather  _ we _ , not be in the infirmary?" Dimitri asked. "There was no need to watch over me." Moreover, Dimitri probably should have been put in a cell for that ruckus. Waking up on a soft couch was not what he recalled being the proper course of action after harming a royal.

"Yeah, but no one thought that it was a wise decision to have you and Edelgard in the same room."

"I… I do see your point," he agreed. “How is she?” Despite his hesitation, he had to ask. To know the damage he had caused by losing control.

Humming, Sylvain turned his head to one of the many bookshelves and perused the spines. “Dorothea was the first to get to her after you were pulled off. I couldn’t see her since she was holding Edelgard but it sounded like she was in a lot of pain.” It seemed like Sylvain wanted to say more about that by the way his face scrunched up but he left it at that.

Dimitri leaned back against the cushions as he planted his feet against the ground. He held his face in his hands and let his eyes close. 

He shouldn’t have let his emotions get the better of him. There was an image he had to uphold, not for himself but as the one who represented his country and classmates. Now they would see him for what he was: a monster. He couldn’t achieve any of his goals that way.

And Byleth. She would want nothing to do with someone as inhumane as him. As loose as his ties were to Edelgard, they were still family. Byleth knew that and she would know that he tried to kill her. 

He could imagine the scorn and disappointment she would look at him with.

_ And you deserve all of it, _ Glenn said. It was almost a whisper but it was the only thing he could hear.

Then he could hear his father laughing, a hollow mocking sound.  _ That’s right, what’s one more dead family member? All you do is let people die. _

“Dimitri,” Sylvain said worriedly. “You alright?”

His eyes shot up to look at him. But as his mouth opened to ask what he meant — how he came over and crouched in front of him without Dimitri noticing — there was a knock on the door. As Dimitri turned to look at who was coming in, the other moved to grab the Lance of Ruin that Dimitri hadn’t noticed him prop against the wall.

Seteth walked in and looked as though what little energy he had was lost. His eyes were accompanied by dark circles and his shoulders sagged. Motioning for the prince to follow him, Dimitri accompanied him to his office.

Sitting across from him, Dimitri watched Seteth pull papers in front of him and prepared to write something down. “I want to know why this incident happened. You two are students of the Officer’s Academy but you are still the Crown Prince and Princess of your countries.” The man had regained some of the composure Dimitri was used to seeing him have.

Dimitri watched him dip the quill into an inkwell and tap the nip on the mouth, ink droplets falling in.

“If you are worried about expulsion, fear not. While we want to put you all on equal footing, the reality is that there is still a hierarchy at Garreg Mach. You have seen it all year from the dorms,” Seteth explained, tapping his foot. Looking at Dimitri who’s eyes lingered on the reverberation of the ink, he wrote down some notes before glancing over some items that he had already written down. “That being said, there will be repercussions for your actions. I have already spoken to Edelgard.”

Reaching to adjust his sword holder that was not there, Dimitri smoothed the jacket of his uniform down instead. It’s absence increased the unease forming in the pit of his stomach. 

“The fault of what happened was with me,” Dimitri said. “I would like to apologize to her but I understand if she never wants to see my face again.”

Seteth, furrowing his brow, looked at one of the papers on his desk more carefully. “From what she wrote for me, Edelgard incited you. She said that she had taken one of your possessions.”

Dimitri frowned. “That is… partially correct, nevertheless, I can’t deny that I should have handled it better.” 

Nodding, Seteth wrote more down. “What was stolen?” he said smoothly. Dimitri could not tell where the man’s emotions lied. He sounded calm but he was pressing the nib of his pen to the paper so hard, the ink began to pool on the page. This was no time for mediation but Dimitri admired his ability to care about students even with Flayn’s situation.

“I can’t say.” Dimitri closed his eyes. He hoped Byleth was alright.

“The church cannot ensure that it is returned to you in that case.” Dimitri listened to the sound of shuffling papers as he laced his fingers together on his lap, nodding. “Very well, we can move on to the next issue.”

“My punishment?” Dimitri asked. If not expulsion, then he could see his status as house leader being revoked or suspension as possibilities.

As he opened his eyes and drug his gaze from the carpet to Seteth’s face it appeared he was wrong. The bite of his lip and aversion to meeting his eyes said he was partially right. “Captain Jeralt’s punishment,” he corrected.

Dimitri’s eyes widened. “That is completely unnecessary.”

“I understand, the law is still the law,” Seteth grimaced. “However, we hope that you will be humane with his sent— Wait what?” he blanked.

“I have no desire to punish him,” he sighed. Dimitri couldn’t believe the shocked expression on the advisor’s face. Was it really hard to think that he cared about Jeralt?

Seteth asked if he had heard correctly only for Dimitri to nod. They continued, Seteth explaining the complexity of his predicament with Edelgard.

She asked for Dimitri to get off lightly, thus presenting him with two options: being put under watch by someone or paying a fine as repercussion. Neither were bad options per se, but Dimitri understood that while he had the choice, there was only one correct option.

“I would like to know the conditions of my supervision before I leave,” Dimitri said, setting his mouth in a firm line. 

He could see her asking to have Hubert follow him everywhere he went to keep tabs. He could even imagine all the unsettling comments the man would make while he went about his daily tasks.

It was nothing serious such as round the clock surveillance. Merely that during the hours when he was out of class and students were still allowed to roam the grounds he would be followed. Dimitri would be left alone while in the dorms and the baths for privacy’s sake. 

Making a few more notes and then aligning the papers, Seteth smiled at the prince after he agreed to the terms. “I will inform Edelgard of your choice. Until it is agreed that there will be no more ‘accidents’ this will continue for the foreseeable future.”

Once he left, meeting up with Dedue who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, they met up with the rest of their house who had gathered at the dining hall.

Dimitri, shook his head as approached. “Will someone please tell me what happened while I was incapacitated?” He glanced from Annette who had the remnants of a bite mark to Ingrid who held a melting s orbet to her arm. Felix partook in his own peach confection though he was properly eating his.

“I think the best way to describe what happened is a brawl,” Ashe said. Dimitri turned to see him with a tray containing two more desserts. As he sat, he traded the melted one for himself to eat as Ingrid smiled at the extra coldness on what the prince presumed was a forming bruise underneath her jacket. 

Felix took the other and placed it in front of himself in preparation to eat it as soon as the first dish was empty. “What are you gawking at? I got punched in the face because of you, boar,” he grumbled.

Dimitri sat down and looked at Annette’s arm with a frown. “It’s safe to say that is because of me, no?”

She shook her head. “Petra yelled something I couldn’t understand and it freaked me out so I forgot about the one spot in the grass with the big stone that sticks out and tripped,” Annette scrambled. “I accidentally threw my axe and got Ferdinand involved…”

“Annie got bit when she tried to stop Lysithea from casting,” Mercedes sighed, leaning against into her hand. She still seemed worn out from their mission.

He couldn’t quite understand the connection between Petra and Lysithea but nodded all the same.

Sylvain rubbed under his eye and hunched over the table. “Was that before or after Raphael punched me? When Ferdinand joined.”

“During,” Ingrid and Dedue said.

“Gotcha.” He nodded. “I thought that he got involved around when Felix said he was going to punch Hubert’s lights out.”

“No, that was Leonie,” Felix said between bites. “She tried to pull me off after you kicked Caspar.”

Ingrid started counting on her fingers before restarting. “If we don’t count Ferdinand, since he only got in the middle of it to tell us to stop, then there were ten of us involved. I wouldn’t say Bernadetta counts either considering it looked like she had passed out after seeing your Highness.”

“I see…” Dimitri lowered his head.

“I think Cyril should count in that estimate,” Hilda said. “I’ve seen how much time he tends to those hedges and they got totally destroyed when you and Caspar fell into them.” She was leaning towards them from the next table over, evidently listening while she had her meal as both her and Marianne’s plates sat empty in front of them.

“Sorry,” Ingrid said, rubbing her injury at the memory.

She pouted. “Why are you apologizing? You didn’t mean to have Caspar fall on you. That would be weird. What do you think?” She turned to her lunch partner.

Said partner wouldn't make eye contact with Hilda nor anyone in particular. “I’m not a good person to ask… Claude called me to heal Raphael so I saw the end of it.”

“I know that,” Hilda smiled. Just as quickly, she frowned and let out a deep sigh. “I hope they can get a hold of Manuela soon though. Dorothea was pretty scared when she came to do first aid. But I don’t know much about that kind of thing so I’m not sure if it was an overreaction since it all happened so quickly.”

“With throat injuries, it’s hard to say.” She glanced at Dimitri who grimaced at her words. “But since she’s breathing it should probably be fine, especially since she didn’t faint,” Marianne quickly added.

Gloom trodden, Dimitri abruptly left to the pond so he could clear his head.

Life was spiraling around him. Or maybe he was making it spiral? 

Either way, he knew his control was slipping. He didn’t think he would ever want to hurt Edelgard when he had wanted to be on better terms with her. Dimitri most certainly did not think he would feel a thrill holding her life in his hands. It was a faint excitement but it had still been there. He could still feel her erratic pulse as if his hand was still wrapped around her neck and not splayed for him to look at.

He felt disgusted.

And regrettable as it was to be the cause of all of his classmates' pain, hearing that they had caused a fight because of him made him feel happier than he thought it would. Sure, they protected each other in battle, but this was a pointless and more than reckless endeavor considering every angle put him in the wrong.

He sighed and let his shoulders fall as he watched a fish swimming just below the surface.

This was the opposite of what was needed now. The monastery was understaffed, still searching for the relic and Flayn. Now he had gone and piled more work on their only physician.

“Your Highness,” Dedue said, his voice as calming as ever.

“Ah,” Dimitri turned, forcing a smile. “Would you like to join me?”

Bowing to him, Dimitri immediately urged him to stand upright and just talk to him normally. “I have failed to protect you again,” Dedue said plainly. “If I had known Edelgard had upset you I could have handled the issue.”

“Nonsense,” he responded, shaking his head. “I should have calmed myself and talked to her about it. It’s for the best that Jeralt intervened.”

“I’m glad you think so too,” Jeralt said, approaching the prince and his retainer. He wasn’t smiling despite his words. “That would have made life easier. I have your things and I was wondering if we could have a little chat about them.”

“Could you elaborate?” Dimitri asked. He didn’t fail to notice the man’s glare at him, not that Jeralt was hiding it. Dedue frowned but Dimitri kept his smile in place.

He shook his head, looking to a group of students and workers nearby. “This is better to talk about in private. Seeing as I’ll be following you, I don’t want there to be any confusion between us,” Jeralt said. 

Turning, he didn’t have to look back to know that Dimitri followed after him. The metal of his boots quietly clinking was enough of an indicator.

They returned to the second floor where they bumped into Claude who stopped them to ask if either had seen Manuela recently. He didn’t linger as Dimitri had expected and brushed off the interaction. Rather, his attention was taken by Ferdinand who had just left the infirmary.

“Unbelievable,” was all he could loudly say before an arm from inside tugged him back in. 

Dimitri sighed, inwardly adding to the count of disapproving looks he had been given. He was certain it was a student who stopped the Adrestian from saying any more from the glimpse of golden sleeves pushed up to their elbows.

The hall was empty as he followed the captain to the room he had woken up in. There were muffled noises from the adjoining wall, covered with built-in shelving, that piqued his curiosity.

Jeralt took a seat at the desk and opened a drawer that pulled him out of trying to hear what those in the infirmary may have been saying about him. 

It didn’t matter anyway. All they would have to say would be bad. Maybe even talking about who he was going to let loose on next. It wouldn’t be the first time he had heard such talks.

“The perks of having an office next to Manuela’s,” Jeralt said sarcastically. “Go ahead and sit.”

There wasn’t much in the way of personal effects that he had noticed while with Sylvain but he had been a mercenary until this point. The space still felt like Jeralt with a sense of organization that didn’t fit in with any of the methods Dimitri had observed at Garreg Mach.

Dimitri did as he was told. It wouldn’t do well for him to focus on how others thought of him when he had been ruining his reputation this entire year. Not when Jeralt clearly had something to say.

“Tell me how you got this,” Jeralt said, lifting his hand and with it, the medallion Byleth had given the prince. Dimitri could feel his heart seize, his eyes widening. “Don’t even think of lying.”

Dimitri covered the lower portion of his face with a grimace. “I don’t think you would understand,” he said.

“What I understand is that you managed to disturb my wife and child’s grave without anyone finding out and you’ve had the nerve to show wear this as a sick token,” Jeralt snapped back.

Dimitri clenched his fist and held it to his mouth. “That’s not it. I was given that,” he tried to explain.

Jeralt didn’t miss a beat. 

“Who?” he asked. Again louder.

“From Byleth.” He could feel himself shaking as he bowed his head, hands moving to his thighs. “I have no right to ask this but please do not tell Lady Rhea. …I’m begging you.” 

Jeralt went quiet.

Dimitri didn’t lift his head. He prayed that the captain would listen to his wish. As easy as she would make it to search for Byleth, it felt wrong. This felt wrong.

He had been hiding the truth from her family this whole time. He didn’t deserve to ask for Jeralt’s help. He didn’t deserve any of the kindness that the man afforded him, any of the moments that made him forget that he had come to the academy to seek revenge, any of the relationship they had built.

Because he had been keeping Byleth from him the whole time. He could have tried to bridge the gap between them. To let them talk to each other with him as a go-between or  _ something. _

_ But you wanted her all to yourself. _

No, he wanted her to be happy. He wanted Byleth to do what she wanted.

_ You only wanted that because she said she wanted to be with you. _

Jeralt smacked the table and Dimitri winced, holding his body steady. “What does she have to do with this?”

Dimitri lifted his head. To say that Jeralt was upset was an understatement, his jaw tensed, eyes narrowed. If looks could kill, Dimitri wouldn’t stand a chance.

But he couldn’t say that the anger was directed at him. 

The way his eyes were looking towards the corner of the room, where beyond it laid the audience chamber of the archbishop said that there was something else at play. Something the prince didn’t know about.

“Byleth–” Jeralt glared at him. “–or rather, your daughter, is afraid of her,” Dimitri corrected himself. “I don’t know exactly why because I could not ask – I didn’t ask – but she was disturbed when the archbishop tried to speak to her.”

“Suppose Byleth is alive,” Jeralt said, standing up. “In all this time that I’ve been at Garreg Mach, wouldn’t she have tried to see me?” He dropped the brooch on the table and closed the distance between him and Dimitri, looking down at the prince.

“She has. It isn’t easy to explain the situation Byleth—”

“I don’t want to hear her name out of your mouth,” Jeralt cut off. Dimitri flinched. “You have some kind of disturbing obsession with my family. Did you set this up with the princess of Adrestia to get closer to me? Was Kostas something one of you two came up with? What do you want?”

Dimitri shook his head. “That’s not it at all! It is hard to explain but I had no ulterior motives in getting closer to you. I had never even considered that our paths would ever cross until I had already met you.”

“If there’s no hidden agenda, why is any of this so hard to explain?”

Because Jeralt couldn’t see any of the times Byleth watched him. Because the state she was in wasn’t something Dimitri quite understood. Because she was a “ghost.” None of those were things Dimitri could explain.

“I can’t say,” Dimitri said, wanting nothing more than to have an answer. Nothing more than to have Byleth by him so that the only thing they would need would be how to wake her up.

“You ‘can’t’ or you won’t?” Jeralt leaned down, inspecting him. “I didn’t talk to Edelgard for long but I know you two are hiding something. Is she pulling the strings?”

The proximity was getting to the prince. This wasn’t a conversation. It was an interrogation.

“She isn’t. I can’t tell you,” Dimitri pleaded. “Our relationship is complicated.”

Jeralt raised his brow and backed to his desk, allowing Dimitri a chance to relax that the younger didn’t take. “For the crown prince, there sure are a lot of things you can’t do,” Jeralt said, throwing the medal back into his drawer. “I’m holding on to that. Unless you can prove it belongs to you more than my initials do.” 

Looking at the captain with a loss for words, he was met with contempt. He was practically a bug in Jeralt’s eyes.

“Fine.” He looked away. “Have it your way.”

“You can have that back,” Jeralt said, tossing a blue scabbard next to the prince. He walked to the door. “If you have nothing else to say, get out of my office.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11 was originally going to be from Byleth's perspective, following something else entirely (that will be explained later when she shows up again) but I felt like it didn't fit in after I looked it over. It opened up too many subplots that I didn't want to have going on so because of that, what was going to be chapter 12 is now this chapter!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's stayed patient with me even though I don't stick to my own schedule (≧﹏≦) With work, updates will probably be slower but I'll still be continuing to update until I finish this.


	12. Family Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am now convinced that I'm somehow working against my own schedule. I said updates would be slower but here I am, not even a week later, updating... (´。＿。｀)
> 
> The only warnings I have is another bit were Sylvain is mildly suggestive and swearing if you count "heck" as a bad word like me ♪(´▽｀)

Dimitri’s new keeper, who he suspected was positioned to ease the students minds more so than to watch him, had the opposite effect. 

With the glaringly obvious issue between them, students and staff alike avoided the two of them as if it was second nature. Neither Jeralt nor he could say that the placement was ideal with all the tension. To be honest, they hadn't said much to each other since they had been in the older one's office.

Beginning with Dimitri smiling as usual and trying to keep his cheery mask in place as he went about his business, unfortunately, devolved into him giving up and expressing all his displeasure starting with a single interaction.

Caspar meant well. He really did. Dimitri knew that. But he couldn’t help telling him to shut up when he approached him to ask where Byleth was with Lindhart. The other Black Eagle seemed interested in why Caspar was cut off the moment the “B” started to leave his mouth but the one who was silenced was more confused than offended.

He could feel the captain drilling holes in his back during the interaction.

That left him to what Dimitri thought he did best: stewing over all his thoughts silently whilst being glared at. Normally Felix had this pleasure, but he had made sure to let the prince know that he was letting himself go while training. That was plenty of reminders with classes canceled for the foreseeable future.

Manuel had been reported to have officially gone missing somewhere within the 24 hour period that the Blue Lions had made it back to the monastery. Jeritza was still missing. That left Hanneman as the only official teacher.

While a replacement was being located, the Golden Deer were placed in charge of finding Flayn and the professor. As Alois had gathered them to spread the news that morning, it didn’t come as a surprise to the prince. Actually, it explained why Claude had been asking about Manuela the night prior.

“Why don’t we have a class dinner,” Sylvain suggested. There was an odd look in his eyes as he hooked his arm around Dimitri’s neck. It unnerved him. “Yesterday’s lunch was pretty lame all things considered and you skipped out last night.”

“I’m not hungry,” Dimitri replied flatly. “I was planning on turning in early again.” Besides, my presence will trouble the other students, which was what he wanted to say. But he kept that to himself.

“We’ll have an early dinner then,” he grinned. He lowered his voice so only Dimitri could hear. “Can we chat without Jer-bear after?” Dimitri signed and agreed with much reluctance. 

When dinner came, it was tasteless, as expected. But after training to kill time, he needed to eat if only to keep going. He didn’t try to involve himself in the conversations. 

Annette tried to involve him multiple times by asking a question periodically but his noncommittal noises didn’t give her, Ingrid, nor Dedue much to work with. Felix and Ashe joined them at the long table but were far enough away that they were holding their own conversation.

What made him finally pay attention to their conversation wasn’t a particular topic but its abrupt stop. For a moment, Dimitri thought that he may have said something aloud with the way they were all staring in his direction. Rather, he found the reason when he turned to the one who tapped his shoulder. 

“Lady Edelgard wished to join you,” Hubert said. She waved with a smile as if to say she meant no harm.

Dimitri slid to the left wordlessly, leaving just enough room for her to sit on the edge of the bench. Hubert set her fish and bean soup down, taking his own to the open spot by Sylvain on the same side of the table.

“I thought with how close you are to Captain Jeralt, that I would have made amends by turning punishment into a chance to see each other more,” she said hoarsely. Her voice was barely audible. Looking at her neck, Dimitri could see bandages sticking out of her collar. “...Alois may have been a better choice.”

He hummed. “Not going into my room may have been the best choice,” Dimitri offered, taking a drink. 

Jeralt subtly adjusted forward to try and hear what she was saying, understandable with how little he could hear himself. Dimitri leaned a bit closer. Catching a nervous glance from Ashe, Dimitri gave him a nod and brief smile. He didn’t know what he had managed to convey but it seemed to reassure his classmate.

“I need to mention that I sent my general to look for her,” Edelgard said. 

“You mean Jeritza?” He rose more than his own brow as many of the table members turned to look.

She elbowed him, causing him to gag on his spoon while he tried to take another bite. “Quiet,” she hissed, “And no. Jeritza’s… busy.”

Clearing his throat, Dimitri set his tablewares down. “Would this be preferable?” he whispered, tipping her chin upward.

“Stop it,” she said loud enough that her voice cracked, slapping his hand away.

Jeralt and Hubert rose at the interaction but stopped as she held her hand up, the other massaging her throat. The others appeared on edge but no one said anything, merely trying to resume their conversations though they held prior to Edelgard’s arrival. Dimitri merely put his elbow on the table to provide a wall between him and the white haired girl as he finished his food.

Once he had eaten, Dimitri wasted no time lingering and walked straight to his room.

It was still a mess. But slightly better. Instead of sleeping, Dimitri had stacked the books and papers that were lying on the floor into piles. Then he lied down on the bed, realized it smelled like Byleth and his emotions got the better of him. The remaining hours or so he spent in the bathhouse trying to make the puffiness in his eyes go away.

As it turned out, cold water was better than hot.

While he was there, Dimitri had taken the chance to wallow in his own misery. Not that he deserved to, which he also tore at himself for. It was a vicious cycle that only ended when a staff member had knocked on the door to ask if Dimitri was still conscious since he had been in for so long.

The current knock at his thoughts was expected though.

“It’s unlocked,” Dimitri said, walking to the corner. He picked up a stack of papers that had been strewn about and straightened them.

The steps were frequent and out of sync, making Dimitri sigh for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He turned to see not only Sylvain but Annette and Dedue enter alongside him.

“I take it you wanted to do more than chat about something mundane?”

Sylvain winked unabashedly. “You caught me!”

Dimitri sighed.

“While we wait,” Annette said in an attempt to ease into things, “we can help clean?” She narrowly avoided stepping on the bedspread and side walked the rest of her way in.

“I won’t stop you,” Dimitri said, moving on to another mess on his shelves. “But I would not mind if you wanted to make yourselves comfortable.”

As expected, Annette and Dedue started in on cleaning while Sylvain sat on the floor. The redhead moved once to let Dedue pull the covers out from under him and again when Annette dropped a stack of books on his head. 

“I’m so sorry!” She put a hand to her mouth, wincing. “That looked painful.”

“Ah,” Sylvain said as he laid back. “At least, it wasn’t the stack Dedue’s holding.” A stack of large hardbacks. She had only been holding notebooks, though enough for them to make a thud as they made contact.

There was another knock on the door and Annette jumped to get it. “Ingrid, Mercie!” She said excitedly, opening it for the girls to come in.

Mercedes looked around with curiosity while Ingrid stood by the foot of the bed to look at Sylvain.

“You look comfortable,” she said.

He used his arms as a pillow, crossing his legs. “I’ll move when I need to.”

"You'll move now," Felix said, swatting his feet as he walked around Ingrid.

He took a seat on the bed as Dedue finished tucking in the sheets, the blanket still handing off the end of the bed, neatly folded. Sylvain only pulled into a cross-legged position on the floor so that there was more room to walk in the increasingly overcrowded space.

"Oh," Ashe said in surprise as we stepped in. "There really isn't that much of a difference between the common and noble rooms."

Sylvain smirked almost on cue. "Well maybe during the day, but at ni– "

Before anyone else could intervene, Dimitri effortlessly moved the bed, bumping his friend's head with the bedpost.

The prince set it back down and stood with a set of quills in his hand. All of them looked at him, aside from the one who was rubbing the sore spot on his head, dumbstruck.

"I did not want to lose any considering how many I have already broken," Dimitri provided. 

Felix, still holding on to the doorpost when he tried to keep from falling off, sat there stunned even as Ingrid waved her hand in front of his face.

Dimitri had to hand the writing instruments to Mercedes to set on the desk given her spot in the center of the room. She daintily placed them on his desk before pulling the chair from his desk, that Dedue had already taken the liberty of setting up right, against the wall.

She stood beside it and Dedue as Annette hurriedly came over and thanked her friend for the spot before sitting. Dimitri motioned to the bed as he leaned against the shelving. Ashe sat on the edge, a hair away from slipping off while Ingrid sat on the wood of the foot, just barely touching Felix's arm. As he looked at Sylvain, to which he merely shook his head and put his hands on his ankles, Dimitri crosses his arms.

"I take it that you all want to know about my behavior?" Dimitri prodded. He scanned their faces, particularly the way they all looked between each other, engrossed in a nonverbal discussion of their own.

As Ingrid's eyes motioned from Felix to Mercedes, the latter shaking her head, Sylvain shrugged in an agreement of some sort. Felix clicked his tongue and Dedue leaned forward to look at Annette, a pensive look on her face. She finally nodded, but soon made a face causing Ingrid to sigh and Ashe to nod.

"Enough," Dimitri intervened.

"The altercation was my fault. I took the blame. Edelgard and I decided, individually, that we were both at fault."

"While I'd love to talk about your own contradiction in that," Sylvain said, "that's not why we want to talk…" He looked to Mercedes, puffing one cheek out.

"We want to finish the topic from our mission," she elaborated. He quirked a brow. "I'm–  _ We _ are afraid that we have you the wrong impression. We didn't mean to upset you or imply that we didn't believe you when you said she was alive. It was a lot to process is all."

"So where is her body now?" Felix pulled his boots off and tossed them to the side before pushing to lean against the wall.

Dimitri lowered his head, his sight in line with the carpet, now noticing that there was an awful lot of indents from where books and loose weapons had been. 

"I don't know," he grimaced.

"You're the only one who would have seen her since we got back," Ingrid said, adjusting so that she would be more comfortable. "Annette and Felix haven't seen her when I last asked."

"And neither had Caspar nor Lindhart, nor Marianne — I assume — I haven't asked her myself but all of the Golden Deer seem their usual selves," Dimitri thought aloud. It helped to relax and organize his thoughts but he tried to refrain from it ever since Rufus and others at the palace told him how it made him look.

"Byleth can't go beyond the monastery, but I'm not sure if that was a restraint in location or if it was her physical being." He paused and scrunched his face. "No, she couldn't be anywhere near here in either case."

"If you wanted to hide a body with less than–" He thought for a second. "–an hour or so, while still putting it outside of Garreg Mach, and you planned on putting it back: where would you put it?"

"Is this a riddle? Because I was under the impression you broke into the Holy Tomb and stashed her body somewhere on the grounds," Felix interrupted.

Dimitri nodded. "I brought her here. Granted I hadn't realized it was the Holy Tomb until things were already underway and Lady Rhea nearly caught us, then there was Edelgard and the gatekeeper…"

"Lady Rhea?!" Annette burst. She covered her mouth, eyes wide much like the rest of the room's occupants, and squeaked out an apology for the noise level.

Sylvain waved his hand. "His Highness' room is between me and Felix, we're at the end of the hall so we only have to worry about who's beneath us in an hour or so."

"Then there should be no trouble," Dedue informed. "Mine is below and next to mine is a storage room."

"And my room!" Ashe smiled. Dedue reflected the look with a nod.

"We're way off topic," Ingrid said before steering things back. "The archbishop aside, what does Edelgard have to do with this?"

"Ah," Dimitri said, lifting his head. That wasn't one of the things he had wanted to mention. "She caught me that night. She and Hubert. That is why she knows about Byleth."

"You had kept her body here," Dedue posed. 

Dimitri gave a small noise of affirmation. "Hubert moved her body before the room checks."

"Sooo a week ago." He stood up and moved to the shelves, picking up a map that stuck out. "That's what Seteth told me when he scolded me. If that's right couldn't she have made it back already? Even if he used warp, the range is limited."

Dimitri glanced at the map of Fodlen. On foot, that was almost plausible. She would have to spend most of it walking but that wasn't the issue. "Byleth's never left Garreg Mach and even she has seen maps…"

"But if her and her body are separate," Ingrid said, looking away.

"Then she couldn't go anywhere," Felix finished. He looked to Annette. "You practiced with him. What's his range on warp?"

"I wouldn't really know," she said with a frown. "We practiced offensively most of that week."

They took a moment of silence. "Can we get permission to look?" Ashe suggested. They gave him skeptical looks as his shoulders sagged and he looked at the floor. "I know it's dishonest but we can say we're looking for the sword. Maybe?"

"I heard the archbishop suspended classes and missions," Felix said.

"That's won't work then."

"No," the prince agreed. "Even if we got permission, we have no teacher and I would be unable to accompany you because of Captain Jeralt."

"He saw the brooch and believes I'm infatuated with his family," he added, "and he thinks I robbed his family's grave."

Felix scrunched his face up. "But you are and you  _ did _ , boar." 

No one else said anything.

"I enjoy my time with Jeralt and Byleth but I would hardly call it that."

Before Felix could retort, there was a knock on the door. Dimitri was quick to put a finger to his mouth. Not that it was needed.

Another knock sounded moments later.

"Who is it?" Dimitri called. The response was yet another knock, more insistent than the last two.

Sylvain motioned with his head for Dimitri to answer it. While he crossed the room, Mercedes and Annette crossed to Ingrid as quickly as they could.

Boards creaked under the moment but Dimitri waved of Mercedes' silent apology.

"Yes?" Dimitri said, opening the door slightly.

"Took you long enough," Edelgard muttered. She pushed him back with little resistance and stopped as she spotted the redhead next to Dedue. She looked next, to Dimitri and scanned the huddle behind him impassively.

"House meeting?" she asked.

"Something like that," he acknowledged. "They know as much as you."

She accepted the information and walked in. Taking Annette's seat, she untucked a pair of loungewear from her arm and set it on what little free space his desk had.

"Told I Hanneman I needed a new pair and got you a replacement when he told me where they were kept," she said quietly.

She rubbed her throat as the Blue Lions moved out from behind the door as Dimitri shut it. Annette remained by Ingrid while Felix now stood against the door, Mercedes sitting near Ashe on the bed.

"What?" she asked as she observed them all watching her.

"You're not bothered being in a guys room," Sylvain said.

"It's not as if I am alone," Edelgard reasoned with a smile. 

"Not that it would matter, she is my sister after all," Dimitri said as casually as he would announce the time of day.

Felix looked to Dimitri, who said nothing, and back to Edelgard, a stunned expression on her face.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

Sylvain narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, excuse me, your Highness? That doesn't make any sense." Ingrid nodded, equally as confused.

"I suppose our uncle never brought it up to you," Dimitri said pensively. "We were so young, I thought it would have been mentioned at least once while after you left the kingdom…"

"Arundel?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes," Dimitri said looking at her, "his sister, your mother, married my father. It wasn't a public event so only myself and few others in the Kingdom ought to know of it now."

"How the hell did you keep that a secret?" Felix asked, knowing full well Dimitri couldn’t hide things to save his life. His expressions gave everything away sooner or later.

“More importantly,” Sylvain said, stepping into the middle of the room, “when was Edel—” He froze, a realization suddenly overtaking him as he whipped around to face the Adrestian. “El. You’re El, who his Highness gave that dagger to. You taught him how to dance.” Edelgard’s posture straightened but she looked off to the side, twisting her face in a frown. 

“That’s enough,” Dimitri said straight-faced. He crossed his arms and ignored the shock of his childhood friends and classmate’s faces. “Tell me why you are really here Edelgard.”

She took a deep breath. “Claude is getting close to finding Flayn.” She stood and patted her shorts off. “When they fulfill their mission, I’m warning you not to get your hopes up. I’m afraid I cannot offer any more than that with my circumstances. Have a good evening.” She let herself out, a soft click sounded from the door.

“What could that mean?” Mercedes wondered. Ashe shrugged and Ingrid bit her lip.

“Her hands are in this like they were the Rite of Rebirth,” Dimitri said flatly.

Sylvain walked to the prince and gently moved him to sit. “We have how many hours until curfew?”

“Three, possibly four,” Dedue said, glancing at the sun from the window.

“That’s enough for a few more questions right?” Annette asked optimistically.

“Yeah, you owe it to your friends,” Felix said. He tried to put on a displeased expression as he turned away but Dimitri was more focused on the fact that he didn’t discount himself as one of the prince’s friends.

Dimitri sighed and shook his head. There was a smile he couldn’t stop from forming on his face as he spoke. “I suppose that we could spend the rest of our night in my room.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm focusing on the BL students a lot but I love them. My dream of getting them in the loop has finally been achieved leaving everyone else to slowly get caught up to all this chaos... My alternate was them leaving Dimitri to his own devices and the plot with that got koo koo bananas in a way I didn't like real fast, so I returned to the safer friendship route (‾◡◝)
> 
> Thank you for reading as always! I'm always surprised when I see the hit and kudo counts increase, it makes me smile ヾ(≧▽≦*)o I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments too, have a nice day!


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